US President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit being held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju . Trump is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit . The US president will hold separate high-level summits with both leaders. This is Trump’s first trip to Asia in his second term , drawing global attention.
Trump’s trip is primarily aimed at advancing trade and investment deals . He flew from Tokyo on Air Force One on Wednesday morning and arrived at Busan’s Gimhae International Airport . The visit comes amid tensions between the US and Asian countries over tariffs and investment .
The meeting between Trump and Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju will be the second summit in nearly two months . The trade deal agreed upon between the two countries in July is expected to be formally signed at this meeting . Under the proposed agreement, South Korea will invest $350 billion in the US , while the US is considering reducing its tariffs from 25% to 15% in return . However, the deal has not yet been finalized due to some technical flaws in the investment package.
A highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled for Thursday . This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since 2019. This dialogue is considered crucial amid US-China trade tensions. China recently tightened export controls on rare earth minerals , in response to which Trump threatened to impose 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1. Analysts believe this meeting could prove to be a turning point in either reducing or escalating tensions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Trump’s visit to South Korea has also fueled speculation about a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un . However, there has been no official confirmation from the White House or Seoul. It’s worth noting that Trump met Kim three times during his first term—in Singapore in 2018, Vietnam in 2019 , and during their historic meetings in Panmunjom that same year.
The APEC meeting starting today in Gyeongju is being considered an important step towards redefining trade balance and strategic partnership in the Asia region.