(AFP) – US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Wednesday on the eve of crunch trade talks with China’s Xi Jinping, while also announcing that a deal with South Korea was “pretty much” finalised. Agreeing to a truce in the US-China trade war in the meeting with Xi on Thursday in South Korea would mark a fitting grand finale to Trump’s Asia tour, which has been marked by praise, pomp, and presents.
But a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the close of the marathon voyage looked unlikely, with the US president stating that “timing” didn’t work out. Beijing indicated that the talks between Xi and Trump would take place in South Korea’s Busan, with the US leader telling reporters that “a lot of problems are going to be solved” at the “great meeting.” Global markets will focus on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has disrupted supply chains and unsettled businesses worldwide.
Negotiators from both sides have confirmed that a “framework” has been agreed upon leading up to Trump and Xi’s first face-to-face meeting during the US president’s second term. “We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated. Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans. Other pressing issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.
Trump’s three-country Asia tour has seen Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea lavishing praise on the US president while showering him with gifts. New Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi expressed her intention to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and presented him with a putter owned by assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe, a close friend of the US president, along with a gold-plated golf ball. Not to be outdone, the US leader disembarked in South Korea to the tunes of the 1970s disco anthem and Trump rally standard “Y.M.C.A.,” played by a military band.
President Lee Jae Myung, sporting a golden tie, awarded Trump South Korea’s highest honor and presented him with a replica of an ancient golden crown. “It’s a great honour,” the US president declared upon receiving the award. “I’d like to wear it right now.” South Korea’s presidential office announced that Wednesday’s state dinner for the APEC summit in Gyeongju would feature a golden citrus dessert and a gold-adorned brownie.
In July, Trump mentioned that Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350-billion investment pledge. Steep auto tariffs remained in place, and the two governments were still divided over the structure of the investment pledge. However, Trump stated at the APEC dinner that the deal had been “reached,” only to later clarify that it was “pretty much” finalised. South Korean presidential aide Kim Yong-beom noted that the two sides had “reached an agreement on the details of the tariff negotiations.” He added that South Korea’s financial investment package for the United States, worth $350 billion, consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation. Kim also said they had agreed to maintain reciprocal tariffs at 15 percent and cut auto tariffs to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, North Korea announced just hours before Trump’s arrival that it had test-launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles as a demonstration of strength against Pyongyang’s “enemies.” Trump had extended an invitation to North Korea’s Kim to meet while he was on the peninsula, but he stated on Wednesday that such a meeting would not take place this time around. He expressed his expectation to meet with Kim in the “not too distant future.”
Trump mentioned that he would aim to “straighten out” tensions between North Korea and South Korea, which technically remain at war. Trump and Kim last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades. Kim has since been emboldened by crucial backing from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces. Gi-Wook Shin, a Korea expert and sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP that Kim would likely seek to “maximize his leverage with Trump.” “Still, a future meeting remains possible, as Kim likely sees Trump as his best chance to secure the kind of deal he wants, including recognition as a nuclear state,” Shin stated.
– Aurelia End and Simon Sturdee
© 2024 AFP
