US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Wednesday for advancing toward major trade deals with Beijing and Seoul, on the eve of crucial talks in South Korea with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The meeting Thursday might yield a truce in the trade war between the world's top two economies, a possible grand finale to Trump's Asia tour marked by praise, pomp and even a replica gold crown from South Korea's leader.
But it looked very unlikely a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would take place at the close of the marathon voyage, with the US president saying "timing" didn't work out.
Trump projected optimism on the Xi talks, which Beijing said would take place in South Korea's Busan, when he told reporters "a lot of problems are going to be solved" at the "great meeting".
Global markets will zero in on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has snarled supply chains and unsettled businesses the world over.
Negotiators from both sides have both confirmed a "framework" has been agreed 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 said.
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 burning issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.
Golden Touch
Trump's three-country Asia tour has seen Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea lavishing the US president with praise and showering him with gifts.
New Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter owned by assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe, a close friend of the US president, plus a gold-plated golf ball.
Not to be outdone, the US leader disembarked in South Korea to the strains of the 1970s disco anthem and Trump rally standard "Y.M.C.A.", which was thumped out by a military band.
President Lee Jae Myung—sporting a golden tie—conferred upon Trump South Korea's highest order and gave him a replica of an ancient golden crown.
"It's a great honor," the US president said of the award. "I'd like to wear it right now."
South Korea's presidential office said Wednesday's state dinner for Trump will feature a golden citrus dessert and a gold-adorned brownie.
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.
Steep auto tariffs remain in place, and the two governments are still divided over the structure of the investment pledge.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted Monday there were still "a lot of details to work out" in what he said was a "complicated" deal.
But Trump said a deal would be finalized "very soon" when speaking at the APEC CEO summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.
"We're really wedded, and we have a very special relationship, a special bond. In fact, we're working with you on shipbuilding," Trump added.
'Enemies'
Less welcoming was North Korea's announcement hours before Trump's arrival that it test-launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles in a show of strength against Pyongyang's "enemies".
Trump had extended an invitation to North Korea's Kim to meet while the US leader was on the peninsula, but Trump said on Wednesday that it would not take place this time around.
He said he expected to meet with Kim in the "not too distant future".
Trump added 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 Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades.
Kim has since been emboldened with 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 said.
By Aurelia End and Simon Sturdee
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