Trump leaving Friday for Asia, to meet China’s Xi next week: White House

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) — U.S. President Donald Trump will leave late Friday for his first trip to Asia of his second term, during which he will visit Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, and hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a press conference on Thursday that Trump will meet with Xi on the morning of Oct. 30 in South Korea before heading back to Washington.

Amid renewed trade tensions between the United States and China, Trump will have his first face-to-face interaction with Xi since returning to office in January.

During an event at the White House on his administration’s efforts to thwart drug cartels, Trump said his first question to Xi will be about fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

Trump repeated his criticism of China over what he views as its insufficient steps to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States, saying his administration imposed a 20 percent tariff on imports from the Asian country for this reason.

A day earlier, Trump said he expects to have a long meeting with Xi covering a range of issues, from trade to how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Leavitt said Trump will hold talks with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday morning, then depart the following morning for South Korea’s Busan. He will later meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and deliver a keynote speech at a luncheon attended by CEOs.

South Korea will host this year’s two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the ancient city of Gyeongju from Oct. 31.

On the first leg of the trip, Trump is due to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning, the spokeswoman said. The country will be chairing annual meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its partners.

Leavitt said Trump will hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday afternoon and take part in a working dinner with ASEAN leaders.

As with the previous administration under Joe Biden, Trump and his officials believe that China’s rise has become the most significant challenge to U.S. security and economic interests, and that Washington should prioritize the Indo-Pacific over other regions.

But amid efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Trump administration has not yet allocated significant diplomatic resources to Asia except to conduct trade negotiations.

According to the U.S. government, Trump’s key Cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade chief Jamieson Greer, will also travel to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.