GYEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA (Reuters) – United States President Donald Trump began the final leg of his trip to Asia in South Korea on Wednesday, optimistic about advancing an unresolved tariff agreement with President Lee Jae Myung and reaching a truce in the trade war with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Arriving from Tokyo hours after North Korea tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Trump received a lavish reception from Lee in Gyeongju, a historic city hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
His talks with Xi are scheduled for Thursday in the port city of Busan.
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Speaking earlier to reporters aboard the Air Force One presidential plane en route to South Korea, Trump downplayed North Korea’s missile test and said he was fully focused on his meeting with China’s leader.
“I think we’re going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually,” Trump said.
He hopes to reduce U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to reduce exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, he added.
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The United States may cut in half the 20% duties on Chinese products it currently charges in retaliation for the export of such chemicals, the Wall Street Journal said.
China’s Foreign Ministry said the two leaders’ meeting “will provide new guidance and momentum for the steady development of China-US relations,” and that Beijing is ready to work together to achieve “positive results.”
Speaking at an APEC CEO summit in Gyeongju before his meeting with Lee, Trump said a trade deal with South Korea would be finalized “very soon,” although officials on both sides played down the prospect of a breakthrough this week.
The allies unveiled a deal in late July under which Seoul would avoid the worst of the tariffs by agreeing to inject $350 billion in new investment into the United States. However, negotiations over the structure of these investments are at an impasse.
Upon meeting with Lee at the Gyeongju National Museum, Trump received a gold crown and the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa,” the country’s highest decoration.
At the start of a working lunch, Lee pledged to spend more on defense, while trying to allay Trump’s concerns that allies are not doing their job militarily.
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He also called on the US to allow the country to reprocess nuclear fuel to power submarines. Seoul is prevented from doing so without US consent, according to a pact between the countries.
Trump has pledged to help “resolve” South Korea’s problems with its nuclear-armed northern neighbor. The two countries are still technically at war after the 1950-53 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
