On his first visit to Asia during his second term, Trump landed in Malaysia Sunday morning to attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which groups together Southeastern Asian countries. This is his first stop in a five-day Asian tour that is expected to include to a bilateral meeting with Xi in South Korea.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he hopes the talks with Xi would yield “a complete deal.”
In Malaysia Sunday afternoon, Trump said he anticipates making “a good deal with China.”
“I think if we make a deal, it’s going to be great for China, great for us,” Trump said. “I mean, you know, we have a lot of things that are good for both.”
Raising the expectations for the meeting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said American and Chinese officials reached a “very successful” framework in talks this weekend. The two sides discussed agricultural purchases, TikTok, fentanyl, trade, rare earths and the overall bilateral relationship, he said.
Bessent described the talks as “constructive, far-reaching and in-depth, and giving us the ability to move forward to set the stage for the leaders meeting in a very positive framework,” according to Bloomberg.
Chinese Trade Representative Li Chenggang described the discussions as intense and hailed progress in the talks, Bloomberg reported. “The current turbulences and twists and turns are the ones that we do not wish to see,” Li told reporters, adding that a stable China-U.S. trade and economic relationship is good for both countries and the rest of the world, according to the report.
Sophia Cai contributed reporting.
