Asian Mission for Donald TrumpThe American president has set off on a tour that mixes diplomacy, business, and muscle power, all in his signature style: direct, bold, and calculated. It will be his first trip to Asia since he returned to the White House, and It will end with the most anticipated meeting of the year, face to face with Xi Jinping, Thursday in Busan, South Korea.
The world is looking at this meeting as a showdown. Tariffs are on the table, rare earths, Taiwan, the Beijing's support for Russia and the possibility, far from remote, of a new balance between the two superpowers. As he wrote Paolo Mastrolilli su Republic, Trump's goal is to "avoid falling into Thucydides' trap", which the Greek historian identified as the inevitable clash between a dominant power and an emerging power.
Trump in Southeast Asia between truces and business
The first stop is Malaysia, where the president participates in the ASEAN Annual Summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). A summit that had often been ignored in recent years, but which today becomes a geopolitical and commercial test.
In Kuala Lumpur Trump will bring with him a double message: pacification and business. On the one hand, mediate in the crisis between Thailand and Cambodia, two countries that Washington wants to bring back into the American orbit after years of Chinese influence. On the other hand, sign new agreements with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on microprocessors, artificial intelligence, energy, and industrial investments.
Behind the scenes, however, the preparation is being made more delicate match or the meeting between the US Secretary of Commerce Scott Bessent and the Chinese vice premier He LifengThe two will have to define the margins of the negotiation for what the White House calls “the deal on everything”: an attempt to rebalance trade relations between Washington and Beijing after months of economic warfare.
In Malaysia Trump may meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva., determined to obtain a reduction in tariffs on exports to the United States. “I think we will meet, yes,” the tycoon told reporters on Air Force One, but “under certain conditions.”
Meeting with the new Prime Minister Takaichi in Tokyo
From Malaysia, Trump will fly to Tokyo, where it is awaits the new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She is the first woman to lead Japan and presents herself to the world as the “Iron Lady” of the Pacific, of Thatcherite memory, whom Trump has never hidden his admiration.
On the table there will be the mega-deal worth $550 billion for Japanese investments in the United States, signed last summer. But the White House wants to rewrite the rules; in fact, according to economic advisers, most of the amount consists of loans and guarantees, not real capital. The president intends renegotiate the duties on Japanese products as well, which dropped from 25% to 15% in exchange for investment promises from Tokyo. But behind economic diplomacy lies a strategy of containing China. Strengthening the US-Japan axis remains the cornerstone of American security in the Pacific.
Trump will be received by Emperor Naruhito, will visit US troops stationed in the country and, according to White House sources, will announce a new plan for joint investments in the high-tech defense sector.
Trump vs. Xi: The big meeting on Thursday
The moment of truth will come in South Korea, where Trump will participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Here, among delegates from the 21 most dynamic economies in the world, the f will be played outface to face with Xi Jinping.
The two leaders have not met since 2019. Then they signed a trade truce that lasted just a year. Today they are starting again from a all-out economic warfareWhen Trump imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese exports last April, Beijing responded by blocking the sale of magnets and rare earths to American companies, paralyzing the auto industry. The White House then threatened 100% tariffs on electronics products, while Xi responded by curbing cooperation on chips and lithium. This spiral is weighing on global supply chains and threatening to redraw the map of the world economy.
But in Busan, Trump wants a "fantastic deal", as he himself defined it. An agreement that guarantees stable access to critical raw materials, openings in agricultural markets, and a Chinese commitment to limit Russian energy imports. Xi, on the other hand, will call for an end to punitive tariffs and formal American recognition of the "one China" policy, with the explicit renunciation of Taiwanese independenceTwo irreconcilable positions, but both with room for compromise.
Trump also targets Kim, "I want to meet him"
Donald Trump does not exclude a new contact with Kim Jong-un. “I would like to, he knows we are going there, I get along very well with him”. The rumours about a possible face to face in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), where the two shook hands six years ago, have multiplied after South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young hinted that a new meeting cannot be ruled out.
With his usual ironic tone, Trump joked about communication difficulties with Pyongyang"It's hard to reach the North Korean leader. They have a lot of nuclear weapons, but not many phones." A joke that reveals an uncomfortable truth: North Korea is now recognized as a de facto nuclear power, a factor that affects any security negotiations in the region. A few days before the summit, Pyongyang has also resumed missile tests, a sign that the North Korean dossier remains open. Trump knows that a A possible meeting with Kim could change the tone of his trip, but also complicate the delicate balances it is trying to build with Seoul and Beijing.
Will Trump be able to return from his Asian tour as a winner?, transforming diplomatic duels into new agreements and tension into negotiating power?
