Copyright timesnownews
United States President Donald Trump is headed to Asia for the first time in his second term. During the trip, he will attend the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia and is expected to work on investment deals and meet face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to de-escalate the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. According to the schedule, Trump will leave the White House late Friday night, will have a long-haul flight that has him arriving in Malaysia on Sunday morning, the first stop of a three-country sprint. Trump with attend the ASEAN 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 US have been working to address a skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia and the US President was invited by the Malaysian government for the summit. On Sunday, he's scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia. According to an AP report, Trump may also hold a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva. Brazil is hoping to witness the US cutting down on the 40 per cent tariffs. After Malaysia, Trump has stops in Japan and South Korea. Trump's Japan visit comes days after the country elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Trump is set to meet with Takaichi, who is a protege of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office. Trump is also likely to meet US troops stationed in Japan. In South Korea, 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 US official. The meeting follows months of volatile moves in a trade war between China and the U.S. that have rattled the global economy. During the visit, Trump is expected to make progress on talks for at least $900 billion in investments for US factories and other projects that those countries committed to in return for easing Trump's planned tariff rates down to 15% from 25%. (With AP inputs)
