US President Donald Trump landed in South Korea on Wednesday for the last leg of his Asia tour.
Trump is optimistic about reaching a truce in the trade war with Chinese President Xi Jinping after a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Arriving from Tokyo hours after North Korea tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Trump is scheduled to address a summit of CEOs and meet with Lee in Gyeongju, a South Korean city dotted with historic tombs and palaces.
The main item on Wednesday’s agenda will be the pending trade deal between the US and South Korea, ahead of an expected meeting with Xi on Thursday, the prospect of which has already buoyed global markets.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, Trump brushed off questions about the North Korean missile test and said he was fully focused on meeting the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.
– The relationship with China is very good. So I think we’re going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually, Trump said.
He expects to reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to limit exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, he added.
The US could halve the 20 percent tariffs it currently levies on Chinese goods in retaliation for exports of such chemicals, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Negotiators from the world’s two largest economies on Sunday agreed on a framework for a deal to pause tougher US tariffs and Chinese controls on rare earth exports, US officials said.
The news sent stocks to record highs.
After arriving in the southern city of Busan, Trump was greeted by officials and cannon fire on the red carpet, before a band played a rendition of the Village People’s YMCA, the US president’s favorite song often played at his rallies. He was then flown by helicopter to Gyeongju.
Trump made no mention of trade talks with South Korea on Wednesday, with both sides downplaying the possibility of progress in talks on the leaders.
The two allies announced a deal in late July that would see South Korea avoid the worst tariffs by agreeing to invest $350 billion in new investment in the United States. However, talks about the structure of those investments have stalled.
Trump has also pressed allies like South Korea to pay more for defense, and South Korea has sought reforms to US immigration laws to allow more workers to build factories in the US.
Along with the golf gifts he received from the Japanese leader in Tokyo on Tuesday, Lee will present Trump with a replica gold crown and award him the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa”, the country’s highest decoration.
Trump has repeatedly called for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, including during this trip, but there have been no public comments from Pyongyang. Kim has previously said he may be open to talks if Washington stops pressuring him to give up his nuclear weapons.
(Vijesti.ba)
