President Trump arrived Monday in Japan, the place new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking on constructing a pleasant private relationship with the U.S. chief to ease commerce tensions.
Mr. Trump’s Asian tour, which kicked off over the weekend, has a heavy give attention to enterprise ties, and talking to journalists as he flew into the Japanese capital, he predicted {that a} U.S.-China commerce settlement can be executed earlier than he returned to Washington.
However first, the assembly with Takaichi shall be an early diplomatic check for Japan’s first lady chief. She took workplace solely final week, and has a tenuous coalition backing her.
In the course of the flight to Tokyo, he got here again to the press cabin on Air Pressure One, together with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer. He stated he’d speak in regards to the “nice friendship” between the U.S. and Japan throughout his go to.
PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty
“I hear phenomenal issues” about Takaichi, Mr. Trump stated, noting her closeness with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Mr. Trump had an excellent relationship throughout his first time period.
“It should be excellent,” he stated. “That basically helps Japan and the US.”
Mr. Trump’s solely scheduled occasion on Monday following his arrival is a gathering on the Imperial Palace with Emperor Naruhito, Japan’s ceremonial head of state.
The American chief spent Sunday in Malaysia, collaborating in a regional summit of Southeast Asian nations the place he struck preliminary commerce agreements with Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Trump says he expects commerce take care of China executed this week
Mr. Trump advised reporters on Air Pressure One which he anticipated to succeed in a commerce settlement with China within the coming days.
Officers from the world’s two largest economies stated Sunday that they’d reached an preliminary consensus for Mr. Trump and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping to attempt to finalize throughout a high-stakes assembly later within the week.
“I’ve quite a lot of respect for President Xi,” Mr. Trump advised reporters on Air Pressure One. “I feel we will come away with a deal,” Mr. Trump stated.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg 
Bessent additionally stated Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” {that a} TikTok deal introduced final month was set to be finalized Thursday through the Trump-Xi assembly.
After his go to to Japan, Mr. Trump is ready to finish his Asian tour in South Korea, the place he is anticipated to satisfy with Xi on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation discussion board (APEC).
Trump renews openness to assembly North Korea’s Kim Jong Un
Mr. Trump additionally stated he can be prepared to increase his journey to Asia if there was an opportunity to speak with reclusive North Korean chief Kim Jong Un Kim. Since South Korea is the president’s final cease earlier than returning to the U.S., “it is fairly straightforward to do,” he advised reporters on Air Pressure One.
Mr. Trump’s overtures to reconnect with Kim have gone unanswered.
“If he desires to satisfy, I will be in South Korea,” Mr. Trump stated.
Trump downplays notion of turning into U.S. vice chairman
On different issues, Mr. Trump rejected the opportunity of operating for vice chairman as a option to get again to the presidency, saying, “I would be allowed to do it” however would not as a result of “it is too cute.”
Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, has repeatedly stated the president may serve a 3rd time period regardless of a constitutional prohibition. Mr. Trump himself has flirted with the thought.
On Air Pressure One, Mr. Trump stated, “I have never actually considered it.”
He praised Rubio and Vance as potential future Republican candidates. “I am undecided if anyone would run towards these two. I feel in the event that they ever shaped a bunch, it could be unstoppable,” he stated.
South China Sea, Taiwan, and tariffs
There isn’t any scarcity of safety points within the area, together with entry to the South China Sea and the way forward for Taiwan. However Mr. Trump’s focus has undoubtedly been commerce and his want to realign the worldwide financial system in his imaginative and prescient of “America first.”
For essentially the most half, which means tariffs, or not less than the specter of them. Mr. Trump has regularly used taxes on imports — from allies and adversaries alike — in an effort to spice up home manufacturing or search extra favorable phrases.
Nevertheless, his unilateral energy to enact tariffs stays contested. The president is awaiting a Supreme Courtroom determination in a case that might solidify his authority or restrict it.
The president flew to Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the place he attended the annual summit of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations. He participated in a ceremonial signing of an expanded ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, which fought earlier this 12 months. Trump helped strain each international locations to cease by threatening to withhold commerce agreements.
