Trump’s Big Asian Adventure
President Trump is making his way through Asia on the longest trip to the region since the age of ping-pong diplomacy. But how much will he actually accomplish?
President Donald Trump is on a twelve-day trip to five countries in Asia, looking once again to prove he can make great deals. For Trump, whose first week in office was marked by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement, this trip could be seen as a crucial test of his “America first” policy. Can Trump succeed in negotiating bilateral trade agreements with Asian nations? And can his threat of “fire and fury” against North Korea deter the regime in Pyongyang from launching more missiles and expanding its nuclear program?
President Donald Trump is on a twelve-day trip to five countries in Asia, looking once again to prove he can make great deals. For Trump, whose first week in office was marked by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement, this trip could be seen as a crucial test of his “America first” policy. Can Trump succeed in negotiating bilateral trade agreements with Asian nations? And can his threat of “fire and fury” against North Korea deter the regime in Pyongyang from launching more missiles and expanding its nuclear program?
We discuss the many layers of this trip in this episode of The E.R.
Sheila Smith is an expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, is senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China and Japan’s New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance. Follow her on Twitter: @SheilaSmithCFR
Ely Ratner is the Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His work focuses on U.S.-China relations, regional security in East Asia, and U.S. national security policy. He previously worked in the office of Vice President Joe Biden. Follow him on Twitter: @elyratner
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian is a Foreign Policy reporter focusing on Asia. Bethany has worked as a correspondent in Germany and has reported from China, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, and Austria. Before joining Foreign Policy, she lived and worked in China for more than four years. Follow her on Twitter: @BethanyAllenEbr
Sharon Weinberger is FP’s executive editor for news. She is the author of The Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World. Follow her on Twitter at: @weinbergersa.
ER nerds, we love hearing from you. Have episode ideas or comments? You can email us at ERpodcast@foreignpolicy.com.
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