Three stages, two international summits, one week and many pending tasks. On his first visit to Asia of the second term, Donald Trump hopes to shore up its alliances, battered by its tariff attacks, and seal the trade armistice with Chinaon which global economic health depends. These are not modest goals but you will enjoy enthusiastic hosts with the red carpet arranged to ensure harmony.
He has barely offered any details about the trip. White House but the remnants outline the itinerary. It will land on Sunday in Kuala Lumpurcapital of Malaysia, to attend to the summit annual of the ASEAN (Southeast Asian countries), where he will meet with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. In his first term he barely appeared once and even avoided the virtual edition during the covid. His inaction made it easier for China to gain weight in an area with an exuberant economy and forced balance between the two great powers. Of Beijing It irritates them that it acts by way of fait accompli in the numerous territorial conflicts in the South China Sea but they fear that the American drive to step on all the calluses of its geopolitical rival will leave them a conflict fatal in your area.
Trump punished ASEAN with his duty wildest on that “day of liberation” to discourage investments Chinese in the area and plug the cracks in their protective wall. Weeks later Xi Jinping came with a clear message: Washington It is, in the worst case, responsible for its disturbing economic horizon. At best, for that dance duty taxed and raised, a fickle and unreliable partner. ASEAN has already surpassed in 2023 USA and the UE as the main destination for Chinese exports. This inertia and the damage caused by trade policy justify its presence.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, during their meeting within the framework of the ASEAN summit, this Friday in Kuala Lumpur. / MANDEL AND / AP
Cambodia-Thailand peace agreement
Kuala Lumpur has done its best to please its guest, hiding the homeless and preparing the peace agreement between Camboya y Thailand to stamp your signature. The two countries recovered their border confrontations months ago and after five days exchanging shots y bombs They agreed to an armistice. ASEAN mediation was crucial, an exception in its proven inability to resolve regional conflicts, but Trump claimed success for his threats to cut off trade negotiations with both governments if they did not stop hostilities. In Malaysia The one baptized as the Kuala Lumpur Agreement will be signed, little more than the declaration already agreed upon, which will strengthen the victimhood of Trump for not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Will then fly to Japan to meet with the prime minister on Tuesday, Sanae Takaichijust a week after being invested. Trump’s tariffs distressed his main partner in the area and the agreed investment of 550,000 million dollars to reduce them were perceived by many as a extortion. Takaichi has already announced that he would try to renegotiate them but it is doubtful that he will find an understanding interlocutor.
On defense issues, agreements will be easier because the ultraconservative shares Trump’s militaristic enthusiasm. The president has demanded Tokio that reaches the same 5% expense as the I’LL TAKEbuy more American weapons and assume the bulk of the bill for the 50,000 troops garrisoned in Japan. It has emerged that the Government, seeking a favorable climate, plans to buy a hundred American trucks, very cumbersome for national roads, and park them in front of the Akasaka Palace so that Trump can see them when he wakes up through the window.
Sanae Takaichi, in a file image. / EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP
“Agreement, no agreement and disaster”
In South Korea his journey will end. The country, another traditional partner, has no shortage of reasons to complain. Your president, Lee Jae Myungnegotiates with Washington another mammoth investment of 350,000 million dollars in search of more affordable tariffs, but the agreement resists. His suffers automobile industry with tariffs of 25%, much higher than its Japanese and European competitors. The country has not overcome the stupor over the arrest of 500 workers at a manufacturing plant. Hyundai in Georgia, almost all South Koreans, during an ICE raid. In Seoul They spoke of betrayal when they saw them handcuffed and treated like criminals.
Trump will participate in the summit in Gyeongju APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) and all the spotlights point to his meeting with Xi. Trade tensions have returned when the way seemed clear. The recent cannon shots and the cross accusations of violating the agreement have not diminished Trump’s confidence that everything will turn out well. Nor does he seem impressed by the magnitude of the pending issues: the rare earthpurchases of militarythe fight against fentanyl…The official Chinese press does not share the optimism. Rush Doshi, an advisor Joe Biden In Chinese affairs, he talks about three possible outcomes: “Deal, no deal, and disaster.”
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