GYEONGJU, Oct 29 — United States (US) President Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip in South Korea today, optimistic about striking a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping and advancing an unresolved tariff deal with South Korea's Lee Jae Myung.
Arriving from Tokyo hours after North Korea test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile, he is due to meet with Lee today in Gyeongju, a sleepy South Korean town hosting this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, before tomorrow's talks with Xi.
Trump dismissed the North Korea missile test and said he was squarely focused on his meeting with the leader of the world's second-largest economy.
"The relationship with China is very good. So I think we are going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually," he told the press aboard the US presidential aircraft Air Force One en route to South Korea.
Trump expects to reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing's commitment to curb exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington could halve the 20 per cent levies on Chinese goods it currently charges in retaliation for the export of such chemicals.
South Korea trade talks struggle
Addressing a summit of APEC chief executive officers in Gyeongju before his meeting with Lee, Trump said a trade deal with South Korea would be finalised "very soon", though officials on both sides have been downplaying the prospect of a breakthrough this week.
The two allies announced a deal in late July under which South Korea would avoid the worst of the tariffs by committing to invest US$350 billion (RM1.46 trillion) in the US. But talks over the structure of those investments have been deadlocked.
The President has also pressed allies like South Korea to pay more for defence, and Seoul has sought reforms to US immigration laws to allow for more workers to build factories after a raid on a Hyundai Motor battery plant in Georgia.
The South Korean Presidential Office said that both leaders will discuss trade, investment, and peace on the Korean Peninsula at today's talks, referring to engagement with North Korea.
Trump has repeatedly called for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, including during this trip, but there has been no public comment from Pyongyang. Kim previously said he could be open to talking if Washington stops pressing him to give up nuclear weapons.
Adding to the golfing gifts he received from Japan's leader in Tokyo yesterday, Lee will present Trump with a replica gold crown and award him with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the country's highest decoration.
His office noted that a 'golden dessert' is on the menu for their working lunch.
Trump was also treated to a red-carpet welcome on the tarmac in the southern city of Busan earlier today, featuring a cannon salute and a brass band rendition of Village People's YMCA, often played at his political rallies back home.
Taiwan on the agenda?
Skipping the main APEC summit, he plans a dinner with Lee and bilateral meetings with several countries' leaders, including China's Xi, before he departs tomorrow.
On Sunday, US officials said that negotiators from the world's top two economies hashed out a framework on Sunday (October 26) for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls. The news sent stocks soaring to record peaks.
Trump said he would speak to Xi about Nvidia's state-of-the-art Blackwell AI chips, with sales to China a key sticking point in trade talks.
Since taking office in January, he has vacillated on his position towards China-claimed Taiwan as he seeks to strike a trade deal with Beijing. Trump says Xi has told him he will not invade Taiwan while the Republican president is in office, but he has yet to approve any new US arms sales to Taipei.
Yesterday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said that he was not worried that Trump would "abandon" the island in his meeting this week with Xi.
Earlier today, China stated that it "absolutely will not" rule out using force over the island. Similarly, Trump told the press that he did not know whether he would even discuss Taiwan with Xi.
Final stop in Asia trip
His trip to South Korea concludes a whirlwind swing through the region, among the hardest hit by his tariff policies and increased US-China competition.
In Malaysia, he announced a slew of trade agreements and oversaw the signing of an expanded truce between Thailand and Cambodia after a border conflict.
In Tokyo yesterday, Trump lavished praise on Japan's first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing trade and rare-earth deals.
The US and Japan also released a list of projects in which Japanese companies are eyeing US investments, related to Tokyo's pledge earlier this year of US$550 billion (RM2.30 trillion) in strategic US investments, loans, and guarantees in exchange for a tariff reprieve.
Washington has pressed South Korea to make a similar arrangement, but Seoul says it cannot afford to pay the US$350 billion it pledged upfront. Instead, Seoul has offered a mix of phased investments, loans, and other measures.
Yesterday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said a last-minute concession by the US could lead to a deal.
