On Thursday, Oct. 23 White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt outlined President Trump’s upcoming Asia trip which will include a meeting with Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping.
According to the White House schedule, Trump will depart on Friday evening, and will visit Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.
Leavitt stated that Trump will meet Xi next Thursday in Busan, South Korea, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The bilateral meeting comes after Trump earlier this month announced a 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports. Observers widely see the summit as a significant moment in U.S.-China relations.
At the press briefing, Leavitt said: “Tomorrow night at 11 p.m., the President will depart the White House for Malaysia and is scheduled to arrive Sunday morning local time. It will be a long flight.”
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She added: “President Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister that afternoon, followed by an ASEAN leaders’ working dinner in the evening.”
According to the itinerary, Trump will fly to Tokyo on Monday morning local time for his first formal bilateral meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi.
He will then travel to Busan, South Korea, to meet with President Lee Jae Myung. Leavitt noted that the final stop will be the bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, after which Trump will return to Washington.
The two leaders previously met during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. This upcoming meeting will be their first face-to-face encounter in six years.
