Trump Heads To ASEAN Summit; Trade Talks With Xi, Possible Kim Meet On Agenda

Last Updated:October 25, 2025, 11:14 IST

Donald Trump will meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.

US President Donald Trump looks on while boarding Air Force One as he departs for Asia, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump left on Friday for Asian three-nation tour where he will attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, visit Japan and then meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea. He has expressed his desire to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his trip.

Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his tri-nation visit in a bid to seal a deal to end the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

He will also visit Malaysia and Japan on his first trip to Asia since he returned to the White House in January.

A senior US official said on Friday that Trump would “deliver for the American people in one of the most economically vibrant regions of the world, signing a series of economic agreements."

As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that while on the Korean peninsula he could meet Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 during his first presidency.

“I’d like to, he knows we’re going there," Trump told reporters at the White House. “We let him know, he knows that I’m going."

Talk about a possible meeting with Kim while Trump is in South Korea for a regional summit grew after Seoul’s reunification minister said there was a “considerable" chance.

The White House had said earlier that a meeting was “not on the schedule."

Trump and Xi

The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, with Trump due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, address an APEC lunch with business leaders and meet US tech bosses for dinner, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the city of Gyeongju.

On Thursday, Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.

Global markets will be watching closely to see if the two men can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs earlier this year, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare earth curbs.

Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and imposed fresh tariffs over the critical minerals row, before saying he would go ahead after all.

“The president is most interested in discussing the trade and economic relationship," another senior US official said.

Trump himself said on Thursday that the first topic on the agenda would be fentanyl, as he boosts pressure on Beijing to curb drug trafficking and cracks down on Latin American drug cartels.

Peace and trade deals

His trip comes as the US government shutdown drags on. Many federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck this week, there are flight disruptions as already-squeezed air traffic controllers work without pay, and states are confronting the possibility that federal food aid could dry up. As Republicans reject Democratic demands for health care funds, there’s no sign of a break in the impasse, but Trump seems to be continuing on with business as usual, including his foreign trip.

“America is shut down and the President is skipping town," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Friday night.

Trump’s first stop is at the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. Trump attended the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit only once during his first term, but this year it comes as Malaysia and the U.S. have been working to address a skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia.

On Sunday, he’s scheduled to have a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump threatened earlier this year to withhold trade deals with the countries if they didn’t stop fighting, and his administration has since been working with Malaysia to nail down an expanded ceasefire.

He credited Ibrahim with working to resolve the conflict.

“I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, I think I owe you a trip," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may also meet Trump on the sidelines of the summit to improve ties after months of bad blood, officials from both countries told AFP.

Trump’s next stop will be Tokyo, where he arrives on Monday. He will meet conservative Sanae Takaichi, named this week as Japan’s first woman prime minister, on Tuesday.

Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States."

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...Read More

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...

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