ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump concluded a whirlwind three-country Asia tour Thursday, securing trade agreements while holding a highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The tour, which included stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, saw Trump engage in high-level diplomacy, mediate a regional peace accord and push his administration's economic agenda.
The tour began Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, where Trump was welcomed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
A major diplomatic achievement occurred when Cambodia and Thailand signed a peace agreement to resolve a long-standing border dispute that had led to deadly clashes in July. Trump and Anwar oversaw the signing ceremony.
"Both countries are agreeing to cease all hostilities and work to build good, neighborly relationships," Trump said at the ceremony.
Following the accord, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet noted that he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying it reflects the "gratitude" of his people.
The diplomatic activity in Kuala Lumpur also produced significant economic agreements, as the US finalized trade and resource-sharing frameworks with several Southeast Asian nations.
Under a new trade framework, Thailand agreed to eliminate tariffs on approximately 99% of US goods. In return, the US will maintain 19% reciprocal tariffs. A separate deal with Cambodia saw Phnom Penh commit to eliminating tariffs on 100% of US industrial and agricultural products, while also announcing a partnership between Air Cambodia and US aerospace company Boeing to develop the country's aviation ecosystem.
The host nation, Malaysia, signed a trade deal providing preferential US access for goods like chemicals, machinery and vehicles, alongside a pledge to enforce environmental laws and combat forced labor. Malaysia and Thailand also signed a memorandum of understanding with Washington to expand cooperation and investment in securing critical mineral supply chains. Separately, the White House announced a new trade framework with Vietnam, adjusting a policy from July. While a 20% US tariff on Vietnamese products will remain, the new agreement will identify specific items where the tariff could be eliminated.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, Trump met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. While Trump expressed uncertainty, saying, "We had a good meeting. We'll see what happens," Lula said a trade deal with the US is "guaranteed."
Strengthening alliances in Japan
Trump left Malaysia on Monday for Japan, the second stop on his tour. He met Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo before holding an extended meeting with Japan's newly elected and first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi the following day.
In his meeting with Takaichi, Trump said the US-Japan relationship "will be stronger than ever before." Takaichi echoed the sentiment, noting that Tokyo wants to "realize a new golden age of the Japan-US alliance." She also announced she is nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The two leaders signed agreements to strengthen their economic and security alliance, including a framework for securing critical minerals and rare earths and memorandums to cooperate on shipbuilding and technology.
During a visit to the USS George Washington naval base in Yokosuka, Trump announced he approved the first batch of missiles for Japan's F-35 fighter jets. He also said Japanese automaker Toyota would invest more than $10 billion in new US plants, though a senior company executive later said it “didn’t specifically say that we’ll invest $10 billion.” Trump later met Japanese business leaders.
High-stakes talks in South Korea
The final leg of the tour took Trump to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Trump met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and said his administration would work "very hard" to reach a peace agreement between North and South Korea.
The two nations signed a "Technology Prosperity Deal" to cooperate in AI, biotechnology and space technologies. Trump later announced a much larger package on his social media platform Truth Social. "South Korea has agreed to pay the USA 350 Billion Dollars for a lowering of the tariffs charged against them by the United States." He added that South Korea will buy US gas and oil as its companies would invest more than $600 billion in the US.
The climax was a meeting between Trump and Xi on Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan — their first face-to-face discussion in six years.
"President Xi is a great leader of a great country, and I think we're going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time," Trump told reporters.
Later, on Truth Social, Trump detailed the outcome, writing it was a "great meeting." He said China agreed to begin the "purchase of massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum, and other farm product," continue the flow of rare earth minerals, work to stop fentanyl from entering the US and "begin the process of purchasing American energy."
