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US President Donald Trump landed in Malaysia on Sunday, kicking off the first Asia trip of his second term as trade tensions with China and tariffs on countries in the region loom large.
Trump will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, the first stop of his weeklong tour, before flying to Japan to meet its new prime minister and then heading to South Korea for a crucial summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
His Asia visit comes as US-China tensions have dramatically increased. Beijing this month announced sweeping export controls on rare earths, prompting Trump to threaten an extra 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods from November 1 and raising the risk of a return to a full-blown trade war.
US and Chinese officials have been engaged in high-stakes trade talks ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi, which would be their first since Trump returned to the White House.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer started a second day of talks on Sunday with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng, a confidante of Xi.
China has given no public signs it will roll back the export controls, which have sparked criticism from the US and its allies for their impact on global supply chains.
Speaking to reporters in Malaysia, Greer said the two sides had made progress towards a deal. He said they had wide-ranging talks that included a discussion about rare earths and the possibility of extending the ceasefire in the US-China trade war that is set to expire on November 10.
“We’ve had quite constructive discussions with our Chinese counterparts, and we think we’re getting to a point where we have something we can present to the leaders for their consideration,” Greer said.
Beijing has defended the restrictions on rare earths, which are vital to the manufacture of fighter jets, electric vehicles and smartphones, by accusing Washington of putting Chinese companies on an export blacklist.
On his way to Malaysia, Trump made optimistic comments about reaching a deal with Xi — repeating language he often uses about meetings with his counterparts — but has said he was prepared to take other measures against China.
Other countries in the region will look to Trump’s visit for clarity on his Indo-Pacific policy.
While the president has imposed tariffs on countries across Asia as part of his effort to reduce US trade deficits, he has not elaborated on his strategy regarding security and foreign policy issues.
Trump arrived in Malaysia a day after he put an extra 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods in response to a television advert that quoted Ronald Reagan opposing tariffs.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is also in Malaysia for the Asean summit, but Trump said he had no plans to meet him.
Sanae Takaichi, the new Japanese prime minister who will also attend the Asean summit, wrote on X before the summit that she had spoken to Trump for the first time and had a “good and candid” phone call.
Trump will fly to Japan on Monday. He is expected this week to meet Takaichi who on Friday announced that Japan would accelerate a planned increase in defence spending — a move Japanese officials hope will please Trump.
