Trump’s Asia trip: What’s at stake in his meetings with Xi, Japan, and South Korea

US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump will head to Asia this week for a five-day tour across Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, hoping to secure a string of trade and peace agreements even as doubts linger over a potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The trip, Trump’s first to the region since taking office in January, comes as his administration juggles a volatile mix of foreign policy challenges, a stalled ceasefire in Gaza, continued fighting in Ukraine, and escalating economic tensions with Beijing.

According to the White House, the visit will focus on expanding trade, securing access to critical minerals, and reinforcing US alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Officials, however, remain cautious about expectations from the long-anticipated Trump-Xi meeting, which Beijing has yet to confirm.

“There’s no guarantee the meeting will happen, and even if it does, no one’s expecting a breakthrough,” a senior U.S. official told Reuters. “The goal right now is to manage differences, not eliminate them.”

Trade truce on thin ice

Washington and Beijing have been locked in a trade standoff since January, slapping tariffs on each other’s exports and threatening curbs on technology and mineral supply chains. Trump has warned that if no progress is made, tariffs on Chinese imports could rise to as high as 155 per cent starting November 1.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the leaders’ interaction might be an informal “pull-aside” on the sidelines of the South Korea leg, though Trump insisted it would be “a pretty long meeting” aimed at resolving “a lot of questions and doubts.”

An interim trade deal could include limited tariff relief or new Chinese commitments to purchase U.S. soybeans and aircraft, officials familiar with the talks said. Washington could also loosen some restrictions on advanced chip exports in exchange for Beijing easing controls on rare earth materials.

Packed diplomatic agenda

Trump will first attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, where he is expected to witness a ceasefire signing between Thailand and Cambodia after months of border clashes. He will then travel to Tokyo to meet Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is expected to reaffirm a $550 billion investment plan in the U.S.

In South Korea, Trump will meet President Lee Jae Myung to discuss trade, defence cooperation, and investments. Relations between Washington and Seoul have recently been tested by disputes over foreign worker deportations and large U.S. investment demands.

Analysts say Trump’s approach to Asia remains heavily transactional. “He’s likely to push for big numbers on trade and defence spending while keeping diplomacy tightly linked to economic outcomes,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Biden administration official, as reported by Reuters.

Whether Trump’s Asia tour results in concrete deals or merely underscores deepening global divides, his itinerary highlights one goal that has remained constant throughout his presidency: projecting America’s leverage abroad, even amid uncertainty at home.

*With inputs from Reuters