Trump and Beijing .. Will China become Washington's partner against Moscow?
In a notable development on the international stage, a new round of trade talks between China and the United States began this morning, Saturday, in Kuala Lumpur, amid charged political and economic atmospheres.
In a move that surprised observers, U.S. President Donald Trump announced during his trip to Malaysia that he wants China to help Washington confront Russia, despite the presence of Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the U.S. capital since yesterday for economic negotiations with the American side.
Trump said aboard the presidential plane heading to Kuala Lumpur:
“I want China to help us confront Russia,”
in a clear indication of a potential shift in U.S. administration's stance towards Beijing, despite the escalation of trade tensions between the two countries in recent years.
* Taiwan and Hong Kong on the table
The U.S. President clarified, before leaving Washington, that the issue of Taiwan will be one of the main files he will discuss with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his Asian tour.
He also emphasized the need for the release of Jimmy Lai, the media mogul imprisoned in Hong Kong, according to what was reported by the French Press Agency.
Trump also expressed his willingness to meet with the North Korean leader during his tour, confirming that his relationship with him is "good" and that he is "open to meeting him," while expressing optimism about "building special relations with Japan and its Prime Minister."
* An Asian tour with three stops
This visit is Trump's first to Asia during his current term, aiming to sign investment agreements and push for regional peace efforts, in addition to meeting the Chinese president face-to-face in a new attempt to ease the trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The tour begins in Malaysia, where Trump will participate in the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur.
This summit comes at a time when Malaysia and Washington are working to contain border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia.
Trump is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the Prime Ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.
Earlier this year, Trump had threatened to halt trade agreements with the two countries if they did not stop fighting, prompting his administration to coordinate with Malaysia to reach a prolonged ceasefire.
* Huge investments with Japan and South Korea
After Malaysia, Trump will head to Japan and then South Korea, where he is expected to make progress in investment negotiations exceeding $900 billion, including American factories and major development projects, in exchange for reducing planned tariffs from 25% to 15%.
At the end of his tour, Trump will hold an important meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Seoul on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in a meeting expected to outline the next phase of U.S.-China relations, amid rising competition with Moscow and tensions in regional files in East Asia.
