WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to leave for Asia at the end of the week, betting that an around-the-world journey will help him untangle big issues that he can’t afford to get wrong.
At stake is nothing less than the future of the global economy, which could hinge on whether he’s able to calm trade tensions during an expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A misstep could send shock waves through American industries that have already been rattled by Trump’s aggressive tariffs, government layoffs and political brinkmanship.
Trump’s strategy of improvisation has had both hits and misses since he returned to office in January. Hamas returned hostages to Israel but the ceasefire in the Middle East remains fragile; a trade war with China has ebbed and flowed this year; and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hasn’t slowed down despite Trump’s efforts to resolve the conflict.
There’s been some mystery around Trump’s trip, with no official announcements from the White House about much of his itinerary. The president said Monday that he plans to go to Malaysia, which is hosting a regional summit, then Japan, where he’s trying to nail down foreign investment.
He’ll also visit South Korea, where he’s working on more trade issues and expects to sit down with Xi. Beijing has yet to confirm that they’ll meet, and the two leaders have recently exchanged threats of tariffs and export restrictions.
“I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. He offered to lower tariffs but “they have to give us some things too,” including buying U.S. soybeans, reducing the flow of fentanyl ingredients and ending limits on rare earth minerals that are critical for high-tech manufacturing.
Trump expressed even more confidence on Monday, saying, “I think we’re going to end up having a fantastic deal with China” and “it’s going to be fantastic for the entire world.”
This will be Trump’s first trip to Asia in his second term
With just days to go before Trump leaves, there’s an unusual level of ambiguity even for a president who loves to keep people guessing about his next move.
“The whole trip has seemed so uncertain from the beginning,” said Bonnie Glaser, a managing director at the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank.
It’s Trump’s first trip to Asia since returning to office. Although he’s hosted leaders from the region at the White House, he hasn’t forged the kind of foundational relationships that he has on other continents.
Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the president, responded to a list of questions about Trump’s plans by saying he “will participate in meetings and events in Asia that will result in many great deals for our country.” She added, “Stay tuned!”
Trump’s approach to Asia has focused on using tariffs to realign what he describes as unfair trade practices, unnerving countries that depend on the United States as the world’s largest market for exports. There’s also anxiety about Trump’s meeting with Xi, and the potential that a feud between the two leaders could send the international economy into a tailspin.
