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Donald Trump’s Asia trek through Japan, South Korea and China will test the art of his deals
Donald Kirk says the US president faces several difficult tasks as he meets leaders in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, not least of which will be keeping the pressure on North Korea while easing China’s concerns about THAAD
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US President Donald Trump faces a diplomatic challenge that would be daunting enough for any
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national leader, let alone one who is noted for blunt, non-diplomatic language.
Beginning Sunday in Tokyo, he’ll be hopscotching among capitals of East Asian countries with long histories of hostility, each wary of the others even when they’re not fighting wars. It’s appropriate, after going on to Seoul, that he will be in Beijing, where he can tell President Xi Jinping all he’s taking away from meetings with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in.
No doubt the Chinese and American presidents will manage a show of cheer and goodwill, just as they did at their informal meetings earlier this year at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. For Trump, the challenge will be somehow to persuade Xi of the need to get even tougher on North Korea, which depends on China for most of its oil and much of its food.
North Korea attacks Donald Trump as ‘incurably mentally deranged’ before his trip to Asia
Trump may find Xi quite amenable now that the 19th congress of the Communist Party of China is over and new leaders are in place. To all outward appearances more powerful than ever, the Chinese president surely will put on a show of strict adherence to UN sanctions against the North even while demurring on pleas to cut off the oil.
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