President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia for a nearly weeklong tour of Asia that will include meetings with key leaders, with a main goal of securing a trade deal with China’s President Xi Jinping — in hopes of ending a monthslong trade war.
Trump arrived in Kuala Lumpur shortly after 10 a.m. local time on Sunday. While he was on his way, Trump posted on his social media platform that he would meet with the prime minister of Thailand upon arrival and sign a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, noting the recent death of Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit.
Trump is expected to sit down with Asian leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim while in Kuala Lumpur, during the initial stage of his trip.
During his first event of his swing through Asia, Trump signed the “Kuala Lumpur Peace Treaty” alongside the prime ministers of Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia — an agreement related to the five-day summer border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
The deal will release 18 Cambodian prisoners of war and deploy observers from ASEAN countries to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, according to a joint declaration released by the signatory nations.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh also committed to military de-escalation, refraining from spreading harmful rhetoric or promoting false information, implementing humanitarian de-mining in the border areas and settling border disputes through peaceful means and international law.
During the signing, Trump again took credit for the ceasefire.
“I’m proud to help settle this conflict and and really develop good friendships, including people that work with each team,” Trump said.
“We sat there all day long making phone calls. And it was amazing the way it came together very quickly. I mean, really very quickly, you caused me very good entertainment,” Trump said as he described the multiple calls he had with the leaders over the summer as fighting broke out.
“I could have had a lot of fun, but this is much more fun for me than anything having to do with almost anything, because you’re saving people and you’re saving countries, but asked them to choose the path of prosperity and peace over needless bloodshed and war,” Trump said.
Trump also signed trade deals with Cambodia and Malaysia, the framework for a trade deal with Thailand and a mineral deal with Malaysia while in Kuala Lumpur.
The deals with all three nations will set tariff rates on most of their imports to the U.S. at 19%, the White House said in a series of statements.
The minerals deal with Malaysia looks to strengthen “critical minerals resource sector governance, promoting partnerships between United States and Malaysian companies,” the White House said.
Securing trade deal with China
Trump is expected to sit down with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea on Thursday, the final day of his overseas trip.
U.S.-China relations experienced some detente this summer as tariffs were lowered while trade talks continued, but tensions flared recently when China announced tightened export controls on rare earth minerals weeks before the leaders were set to meet.
The Trump administration sees those expanded restrictions, which apply to countries around the world, as having a major impact on global manufacturing. Trump’s top economic advisers have called the export controls “economic coercion” and “extortion.”
He responded by threatening an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports, set to take effect Nov. 1, if his talks with Xi fail.
Even so, he has appeared optimistic, saying he expects “to be able to make it a good deal” with Xi when the two sit down together. He’s said they’re also expected to confer about China’s purchase of American soybeans and even nuclear matters.
U.S. and Chinese officials reached what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as a “very successful framework” for discussions between Trump and Xi.
Bessent told reporters Sunday that the talks covered a wide range of issues, including trade, rare earths, fentanyl, TikTok, agricultural purchases and the broader bilateral relationship.
He characterized the discussions as “constructive, far-reaching, in depth and giving us the ability to move forward and set the stage for the leaders meeting, in a very positive framework.”
The negotiations were led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and took place inside the Merdeka 118 skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur. Bessent noted that this marks his fifth meeting with the Chinese vice premier.
Bessent said that coming out of the meeting, he would say “yes”, that the trade truce between the two countries would be extended, while adding that it’s ultimately the president’s decision.
Other world leaders
Following his stop in Malaysia, Trump will then travel to Japan where he’s expected to sit down with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. A political conservative, Takaichi is the country’s first female leader. While the U.S. and Japan have already secured a trade deal, the two will highlight that aspect of the U.S.-Japan relationship.
