Trump heads for Asia and Xi talks, as Kim speculation swirls

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump leaves on Oct 24 for Asia and high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping – as Washington played down speculation that he could meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Mr Trump is set to meet Mr Xi in South Korea on the last day of his trip, aiming for a “deal on everything” to end a bitter trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

The 79-year-old will also visit Malaysia and Japan on his first Asian trip since he returned to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical deal-making.

A senior US official said on Oct 24 that Mr Trump would “deliver for the American people in one of the most economically vibrant regions of the world, signing a series of economic agreements.”

Talk about a possible meeting with Mr Kim while Mr Trump is in South Korea for a regional summit mounted after Seoul’s reunification minister said there was a “considerable” chance.

But the US official said it was “not on the schedule,” despite both leaders having said they would like to rekindle the unlikely relationship they fostered during Mr Trump’s first term.

Peace and trade deals

His first stop will be Malaysia, where he arrives on Oct 26, for the Asean summit – a meeting Mr Trump skipped several times in his first term.

Mr Trump is set to ink a trade deal with Malaysia, but more importantly he will oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia, as he continues his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may also meet Mr Trump on the sidelines of the summit to improve ties after months of bad blood, officials from both countries told AFP.

Mr Trump’s next stop will be Tokyo, where he arrives on Oct 27. He will meet conservative Sanae Takaichi, named this week as Japan’s first woman prime minister, on Oct 28.

Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Mr Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States.”

Trump and Xi

But the highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, with Mr Trump due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Oct 29 ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

Mr Trump will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, address an Apec lunch with business leaders and meet US tech bosses for dinner, on the sidelines of the Apec summit in the city of Gyeongju.

On Oct 30, Mr Trump will meet Mr Xi for the first time since his return to office.

Global markets will be watching closely to see if the two men can halt the trade war sparked by Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs earlier this year, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare earth curbs.

Mr Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and imposed fresh tariffs over the critical minerals row, before saying he would go ahead after all.

“The president is most interested in discussing the trade and economic relationship,” another senior US official said.

Mr Trump himself said on Oct 23 that the first topic on the agenda would be fentanyl, as he boosts pressure on Beijing to curb drug trafficking and cracks down on Latin American drug cartels.

Mr Trump’s former adviser, Mr Steve Bannon, told Politico the Xi talks were a risky move by the US leader given the huge implications if the talks collapse, calling it a “throw of the iron dice.”

But analysts warned not to expect any breakthroughs.

“The meeting will be a data point along an existing continuum rather than an inflection point in the relationship,” said Mr Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. AFP