OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:47 AM – Saturday, October 25, 2025
President Donald Trump has departed the United States on his way to tour three Asian nations and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The president boarded Air Force One on Friday night and should arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning.
His first stop is the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur. He attended the summit once during his first term, and this year, it comes at a time when Malaysia and the U.S. are working to address a conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
He is then scheduled to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and participate in a joint signing ceremony with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Earlier this year, Trump threatened to withhold trade deals from the two countries until they ended their skirmish.
“I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, I think I owe you a trip,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One, extending credit to Ibrahim for his role in collaboration with the U.S. to stop the fighting.
A meeting with President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva may also be slated for Sunday, as the Brazilian leader would like the U.S. to cut a 40% tariff on Brazilian imports, and may also have words for Trump about his military strikes of alleged drug trafficking boats off the South American coast.
Though Silva has spoken of a meeting with Trump, the White House has not confirmed such a meeting publicly.
Trump will then head to Japan and South Korea to discuss at least $900 billion in investments for U.S. factories and other projects that the countries have agreed to in return for lowering Trump’s tariffs from 25% down to 15%.
Japan elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, a protégé of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office. Takaichi is set to meet with Trump on his current trip.
“I look forward to meeting her,” Trump said of Takaichi, emphasizing that her relationship with Abe was “a good sign.”
Trump will also be hosted by Japanese Emperor Naruhito and meet U.S. troops stationed in Japan, according to a U.S. official who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity.
A highly anticipated meeting with President Xi is expected around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, while Trump is in South Korea.
“We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House. “I think we’ll have a good meeting.”
The face-to-face meeting with the Chinese president aims to de-escalate a trade war. This month, Beijing imposed new export restrictions on rare earths crucial for military applications while threatening to skyrocket retaliatory tariffs.
Earlier this week, Trump predicted he could reach a “fantastic deal” with Xi.
Also on Trump’s “list” is possibly asking President Xi about freeing Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper founder who has been in solitary confinement since last month.
Though no such meeting is on the schedule, speculation has arisen of a possible reunion with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, as well, since South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Gong-young said this month that it was possible to host a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone.
“They have a lot of nuclear weapons, but not a lot of telephone service,” Trump said of North Korea, suggesting it would be hard to set up a visit.
The president is expected back in Washington on October 30th.
Trump’s signature would be required to sign any legislation that would reopen the government, which has been shut down for 25 days thus far. He told reporters, however, that he didn’t know if the lapse in government funding would be resolved by the time he returns.
“America is shut down and the President is skipping town,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), said in a statement on Friday night. “While Americans are struggling to make ends meet, federal workers are going without pay, and millions of families are bracing for soaring health care costs, the president is leaving the country. Instead of doing his job, President Trump is abandoning it.”
Trump told reporters onboard his flight to Malaysia that upon his return later this month, he would “be willing to” meet with Democrats leading the shutdown, and that he would have already, had they made arrangements earlier.
“I said come on over, just put the government back. All they have to do is say yes, then it’s over. And then we go into negotiations,” Trump said.
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