US president has work cut out on Asian tour
President Donald Trump will urge regional leaders, including China President Xi Jinping, to pressure North Korea’s government
President Donald Trump has travelled to Asia for a multi-country tour that is vitally important to US foreign policy for three reasons. The trip will give Trump another chance to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping and to set US expectations for the future of the world’s most important bilateral relationship. It will give him an opportunity to promote his own trade and investment agenda in the region. Finally, it will afford him a chance to work directly with regional leaders to pressure North Korea’s government and signal that the US intends to remain a forceful presence in East and Southeast Asia. Unfortunately for the US president, he lacks the political credibility, both at home and abroad, to accomplish any of these goals. During a three-day visit to China, Trump will again try to persuade Xi to use China’s leverage with North Korea to change Kim Jong-un’s belligerent behaviour and to back Pyongyang away from continued military threats. China, he will argue, is the critical ...
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