Trump leaves for Asia, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi. Here’s what else to expect

ABOARD Air Force One (AP) — President Donald Trump is heading to Asia for the first time this semester, a trip in which he is expected to work on investment deals and peace efforts before meeting face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to calm the trade war.

“I think we have a really good chance of getting to a very comprehensive agreement,” Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One. He said he plans to discuss fentanyl smuggling with Xi, as well as China’s lack of soybean purchases from the United States. “I want our farmers to be taken care of,” Trump said. “And he wants other things, too.”

Read more: Will Trump meet with Kim? Speculation is heating up ahead of the US President’s visit to South Korea

The Republican president is using this trip to try to bolster his diplomatic intentions after recently brokering a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas.

During his refueling stop in Qatar on his long trip to Malaysia, Trump met briefly on board his plane with the ruling Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani. Trump said they talked about progress in security arrangements in Gaza. “It is going very well,” he said. “Everything is going smoothly. The United States does not have to interfere much.”

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning on a trip that comes as the US government continues to shut down. Many federal employees are set to lose their first full paycheck this week, there are flight disruptions as overworked air traffic controllers are already working without pay, and states face the prospect of running out of federal food aid. With Republicans rejecting Democrats’ demands for health care funding, there is no sign of the impasse breaking, but Trump appears to be continuing with business as usual, including his foreign trip.

US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said: “America is on lockdown and the president is leaving town.”

Trump’s first stop will be at a regional summit in Kuala Lumpur. Trump attended the annual ASEAN summit just once during his first term, but this year comes as Malaysia and the United States work to address skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia.

He is scheduled to meet on Sunday with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump threatened earlier this year to halt trade deals with countries if they did not stop fighting, and since then his administration has been working with Malaysia to reach an expanded ceasefire.

The president credited Ibrahim with working to resolve the conflict.

“I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, ‘I think I owe you a trip,'” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

On Sunday, Trump may also hold an important meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants to see the United States reduce tariffs by 40% on Brazilian imports. The US administration justified the tariffs by referring to the Brazilian criminal trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro – a Trump ally.

Aside from trade, Lula on Friday also criticized the US military strike campaign off the coast of South America in the name of combating drug trafficking. He said he planned to raise his concerns with Trump during a meeting on Sunday in Malaysia. The White House has not yet publicly confirmed the date of the meeting.

After Malaysia, Trump stopped in Japan and South Korea

From there, Trump heads to Japan and South Korea, where he is expected to make progress in talks on at least $900 billion in investments in U.S. factories and other projects that those countries have committed to in exchange for an easing of Trump’s planned tariff rates to 15% from 25%.

The trip to Tokyo comes a week after Japan elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaishi. Trump is scheduled to meet with Takaishi, a disciple of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office. Trump spoke to Takaishi during his trip.

While there, Japanese Emperor Naruhito is expected to host Trump and meet with U.S. troops stationed in Japan, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity about the planned trip.

In South Korea, Trump is expected to hold an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.

While the APEC summit is scheduled to be held in Jeonju, the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to be held in Busan, according to the US official.

The meeting comes after months of volatile moves in the trade war between China and the United States that have shaken the global economy.

Trump was angered earlier this month after Beijing imposed new controls on exports of rare earth elements used in technology and threatened to raise retaliatory tariffs to high levels.

Trump told reporters on Friday that he might ask Xi about releasing Jimmy Lai, founder of a pro-democracy newspaper, saying “that would be on my list.”

The only meeting that could overshadow Xi’s summit is an impromptu meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Speculation has been rife since South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-yong told lawmakers this month that it was possible that Trump could meet again with Kim in the demilitarized zone, as he did in 2019.

But such a meeting is not on the president’s schedule for this trip, according to the US official.

Trump indicated on Friday that it is difficult to communicate with the North Korean leader.

He added: “They have a lot of nuclear weapons, but they don’t have a lot of phone services.”

Prices reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.