Aboard Air Force One (AFP) – US President Donald Trump headed Wednesday for South Korea, where a key meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping could produce a truce in the blistering trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Trump’s two-day visit to key US ally South Korea is the third leg of a trip to Asia that has seen him lauded at a regional summit in Malaysia and flattered as a “peacemaker” by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
But the eyes of the world — and of global markets — will be on a meeting set for Thursday, the first time in six years Trump sits down with Xi. It could determine whether the United States and China can halt a trade war that has sent international supply chains into panic. Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed. It is now up to Trump and Xi, who will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the city of Gyeongju, to nail it down.
William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said however that there appeared to be a “mismatch” in expectations. The United States “is eager to reach any trade deal that Trump could declare as a victory,” while China is focused on “building more mutual trust, managing longstanding differences, and steadying the bilateral trade relationship,” he added.
Trump’s trip to South Korea follows two days in Japan, where new conservative premier Takaichi hailed a “golden age” in bilateral ties. Takaichi lavished Trump with praise, saying she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and giving him a golf club owned by assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, a close friend of Trump. In Korea, Trump was expected to receive a replica of a gold crown from the ancient Silla era.
Just hours before Trump’s arrival, North Korea announced it had test launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast in a show of strength against Pyongyang’s “enemies.” Trump has extended an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet while he is on the peninsula. Kim was not reported to have attended Tuesday’s launch. The US president will head to Gyeongju for a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung — their second in-person talks just two months after a meeting in Washington.
Discussion will likely be focused on trade, with the two sides still deadlocked over a deal between the major economic partners. In July, Trump said Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350 billion investment pledge by Seoul. Steep auto tariffs, however, remain in place, and the two governments remain divided over the structure of the investment pledge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted Monday there was still “a lot of details to work out” in what he said was a “complicated” deal, while Trump has denied that there was a “snag” in the talks. Activists plan to welcome the US leader, whose sweeping tariffs triggered the trade war, with anti-Trump demonstrations in Gyeongju condemning his “predatory investment demands.”
Adding to the diplomatic high drama, Trump has said that he would “love to meet” the North Korean leader during his visit and even suggested sanctions could be a topic for conversation. They last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades. But North Korea is yet to respond publicly to the invitation. Officials in Seoul appear divided as to whether it will go ahead. Kim said last month he had “fond memories” of his meetings with Trump. He also expressed openness to talks if the United States dropped its “delusional” demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
“Trump’s made it clear he wants to meet,” Chad O’Carroll, founder of the specialist website NK News, told AFP. “The ball is in Kim Jong Un’s court.” But the US leader now faces a different Kim than in 2019 — one emboldened with crucial backing from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces. “North Korea has time on its side and isn’t as isolated as before,” said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
© 2024 AFP
