President Donald Trump headed for Asia for the first time this term, a trip on which where he’s expected to work on investment deals and peace efforts before meeting face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to de-escalate a trade war.
“We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday night as he left the White House. “I think we’ll have a good meeting.”
The president will have a long-haul flight that has him arriving in Malaysia on Sunday morning, the first stop of a three-country visit.
Mr. Trump met with the emir and prime minister of Qatar Saturday aboard Air Force One during a refueling stop in that country. The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said that as soon as he heard the president was coming to Qatar, he wanted to have a conversation.
Mr. Trump thanked the emir and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for bringing “peace to the Middle East,” after they served as intermediaries during the Israel-Hamas peace deal, calling them a “great ally.”
His trip comes as the U.S. government shutdown drags on. Many federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck this week, there are flight disruptions as already-squeezed air traffic controllers work without pay, and states are confronting the possibility that federal food aid could dry up. As Republicans reject Democratic demands demands to extend health care tax credits, there’s no sign of a break in the impasse. But Mr.Trump himself appears to be maintaining business as usual approach, including by embarking on this latest foreign trip.
“America is shut down and the President is skipping town,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said.
Mr. Trump’s first stop is at a regional summit in Kuala Lumpur. Trump attended the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit only once during his first term, but this year it comes as Malaysia and the U.S. have been working to address a skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia.
On Sunday, he’s scheduled to have a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.
Mr. Trump threatened earlier this year to withhold trade deals with the countries if they didn’t stop fighting, and his administration has since been working with Malaysia to nail down an expanded ceasefire.
From there, Mr. Trump heads to Japan and South Korea, where he’s expected to make progress on talks for at least $900 billion in investments for U.S. factories and other projects that those countries committed to in return for easing Trump’s planned tariff rates down to 15% from 25%.
The trip to Tokyo comes a week after Japan elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Trump is set to meet with Takaichi, who is a protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Mr. Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office.
Mr. Trump said Takaichi’s relationship with Abe was “a good sign” and “I look forward to meeting her.”
While there, Mr. Trump is expected to be hosted by Japanese Emperor Naruhito, and meet with U.S. troops who are stationed in Japan, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity about the planned trip.
In South Korea, Mr. Trump is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with China’s Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
While the APEC summit is set to be held in Gyeongju, the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to take place in the city of Busan, according to the U.S. official.
The meeting follows months of volatile moves in a trade war between China and the U.S. that have rattled the global economy.
