U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on Friday, October 24, 2025, in Washington, DC, USA.
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US President Donald Trump is set to test his consensus-building abilities on a trip to the trade-battered region of Asia, but his much-anticipated meeting with China’s Xi Jinping is in doubt.
President Trump, who left Washington on Friday night, is scheduled for a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first trip to the region and his longest overseas trip since taking office in January.
Republican leaders want to build on trade, critical minerals and a cease-fire deal before embarking on their most difficult task yet: meeting Mr. Xi in South Korea on Thursday.
President Trump is also working to preserve the signature foreign policy accomplishments of his second term, including the fragile ceasefire he helped negotiate in the Israel-Gaza conflict as Russia’s war in Ukraine and trade war with China continue.
Mineral and technology trade threats between the US and China
The U.S. and Chinese governments have threatened to raise tariffs on each other’s exports and halt trade in critical minerals and technologies.
The visit was officially announced by the White House on Thursday. Details remain fluid, including talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
Neither side expects a breakthrough that would restore the terms of trade that existed before Trump took office for a second term in January, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Instead, talks between the two sides in preparation for the talks focused on managing differences and making minor improvements.
A tentative agreement could include limited tariff relief, an extension of current rates, or a commitment by China to buy U.S. soybeans and Boeing BA.N aircraft. Beijing reneged on a similar promise in its 2020 deal with President Trump.
The U.S. government could leak more high-end computer chips to the Chinese government, potentially loosening regulations on rare earth magnets that have drawn the ire of President Trump.
Or maybe nothing will come of the discussion.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the meeting between Trump and Xi would be “unannounced,” suggesting it would not be formal. President Trump later told reporters that the two sides had “quite a long conversation” and were able to “work through together a lot of our questions and doubts and our tremendous assets.”
China has not confirmed that talks are planned.
President Trump plans to visit three countries and meet with world leaders
Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former Biden administration official, said President Trump’s Asia policy has been defined by intense pressure on countries’ trade policies and defense spending.
“The big question on this trip is whose side the United States is on and what it represents,” she said.
President Trump is expected to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, which begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday.
Trump was scheduled to make a refueling stop in Qatar on his way to Malaysia and briefly meet with the country’s leader and prime minister aboard Air Force One, White House officials said. Qatar is acting as a mediator in the Gaza conflict.
In Kuala Lumpur, he is likely to oversee the signing of a cease-fire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia. The agreement formalizes an agreement between the two countries to end the worst fighting in years in July.
After this stop, President Trump will head to Japan to meet newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Takaichi is expected to support his predecessor’s plan to increase military spending and invest $550 billion in U.S. investment.
President Trump is then scheduled to meet with President Xi in Busan, South Korea, ahead of an international trade summit. President Trump is scheduled to return to Washington before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, according to a schedule released by the White House on Thursday.
President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to a total of about 155% starting November 1 if an agreement is not reached. That would almost certainly lead to a backlash from Beijing and the end of the cease-fire agreement that temporarily suspends tit-for-tat withdrawals.
Beyond trade, the two leaders will also discuss Taiwan, where the U.S. and China have long been at odds, and China’s ally Russia, which is subject to expanded sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
One U.S. official said that aside from China’s trade, export controls and purchases of Russian oil, “the U.S. side has no intention of discussing any other issues,” adding that Trump is prepared to repeat his previous response if Xi raises other topics.
President Trump told reporters Friday before leaving the White House for the visit that he expected the issue of Taiwan to come up in his meeting with President Xi.
President Trump also said he was likely to raise the issue of the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai is serving a prison sentence in Hong Kong under a national security law imposed by the Chinese government.
President Trump told reporters: “It’s on my list. I’m going to ask…we’ll see what happens.”
Will trade negotiations with Canada resume?
After President Trump abruptly ended negotiations, it is unclear whether he will try to restart trade talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is also on a trip to Asia.
The two will likely seek each other out at a dinner with other leaders on Wednesday, another official said.
President Trump told reporters he had no plans to meet with Carney and said he was “pleased with the agreement.”
President Trump is also looking to forge trade deals with Malaysia and India, while strengthening the deal with South Korea.
Relations between the United States and South Korea have been strained by South Korea’s concerns about the $350 billion in investments President Trump is seeking from American companies and the deportation of foreign workers.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung wants President Trump to pursue peace with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Another person familiar with the talks said U.S. officials had considered a visit to the demilitarized zone that separates North and South, but would not confirm it. Another U.S. official said Friday that a meeting between Kim and Trump was not on the trip’s schedule.
President Trump said it would be difficult to make contact with North Korea’s closed society, telling reporters, “If you want to let me out, I’m happy to do that.As you know, there’s not much phone service in North Korea.”
