Trump opens a new page in relations with Asia

TokyoUS President Donald Trump has once again placed Asia at the center of his diplomatic and trade agenda with a tour that began Sunday in Malaysia, continues in Japan, and is expected to culminate Thursday with a high-level meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip seeks to strengthen political and economic ties between the United States and its main allies in the region while redefining the balance of power in the face of the increasingly visible rise of China. Until now, the Asia-Pacific had taken a backseat to Trump's foreign policy, which had focused more on other hot spots such as Ukraine and Palestine.

During the first months of his term, the White House had oriented its Asian strategy primarily through the imposition of tariffs and other protectionist measures, arguing that he was correcting trade practices that Washington considered unfair. This policy, which led to a trade war with China, eroded the trust of some regional allies and weakened the US presence in Asia. Now, with this tour, Trump seeks to rebuild bridges and project the image of a leadership capable of recovering US influence in a scenario marked by strategic competition with Beijing.

According to official sources, whose deployment includes a security and protocol entourage of more than 18,000 people, Trump landed in Tokyo this Monday and was received at the imperial residence by Emperor Naruhito on a courtesy visit that marked the official beginning of his term. The brief and formal event reflected a visible cordiality between the two leaders, who had previously met in 2019, although the geopolitical context is now very different, with Japan reaffirming itself as a key ally in the face of China's rise.

Security and Economy

The agenda of the visit combines security and the economy: the agenda includes strengthening Japan's defense capabilities and implementing an investment package of approximately $550 billion, the result of agreements with Washington. This investment plan is designed to channel strategic projects, such as semiconductors, energy, and infrastructure, and to contribute to rebalancing the trade relationship between the two countries.

In Tokyo, the day planned for this Tuesday is intense: Trump will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, He will visit the Yokosuka naval base—with a scheduled visit aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington—and participate in a dinner with business leaders. According to the Japanese press, executives such as Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, could announce initiatives aimed at increasing the presence of US-made models in the Japanese market, a gesture with a clear diplomatic and economic vocation.

Takaichi also resorts to symbolic gestures to ease tensions: the possible acquisition of Ford F-150 pickup trucks for administrative use has been put on the table, an impractical measure in the narrow streets of the Japanese capital but designed to demonstrate goodwill in response to US demands. The challenge for Tokyo is twofold: to ensure that the projects funded by the package benefit Japanese contractors and technologies and, at the same time, to demonstrate to Washington that the investment commitments have a tangible impact on the local economy.

During his stay in South Korea, Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with President Lee Jae-myung and participate in events on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit focused on regional security and economic cooperation, at a time when the current situation is...

The highlight of the trip will be the meeting with Xi Jinping, also planned within the framework of APEC, where, according to sources from both countries, a memorandum of intent is already in place to move towards a trade agreement that would reduce tensions. Previous negotiations have reportedly addressed issues such as tariffs, the control of rare earths, the fight against fentanyl, and a substantial purchase of US agricultural products, especially soybeans.

The mystery of North Korea

Where it seems Trump will not go – at least for now, although he would not rule out extending the Asian tour to achieve it – is to North Korea to repeat the 2019 meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. On that occasion, Trump made a surprise visit to the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in an attempt to revive nuclear talks, which had been broken off at the time.

Although Trump said before starting the Asian tour that he would like to meet with Kim, the situation is not as it was back then: the North Korean dictator maintains that he will only enter into negotiations if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear power. In that sense, Trump seemed to acknowledge this reality before the tour: "I think they're kind of a nuclear power," he implicitly admitted, a gesture that, rather than closing doors, could facilitate a more realistic dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the medium term.