Trump's Deals in Asia: China, Korea, Japan | The Capital Cable #124

President Trump had a whirlwind trip to Asia last week, with stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea. He met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in his second term. He reached trade deals with Cambodia, Malaysia and South Korea, framework agreements with Thailand and Vietnam and a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand. He also met important U.S. allies, including the new Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi for the first time, and was warmly welcomed by South Korean president Lee Jae Myung for their second meeting. What are the key takeaways from Trump's first Asia trip? 

Joining Mark Lippert and Victor Cha to discuss this and more are Evan Medeiros of Georgetown University and Christopher Johnstone of The Asia Group.

Evan S. Medeiros is the Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies in the School of Foreign Service and the Cling Family Distinguished Fellow in U.S.-China Studies. He previously served for six years on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia - and then as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia. In the latter role, Dr. Medeiros served as President Obama's top advisor on the Asia-Pacific and was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific across the areas of diplomacy, defense policy, economic policy, and intelligence. 

Christopher B. Johnstone is Partner and Chair of the Defense & National Security Practice at The Asia Group. Previously, he served as a Senior Advisor at TAG and concurrently as Senior Advisor and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Chris served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific region. He served twice on the National Security Council, as Director for East Asia under President Biden (2021-2022) and Director for Japan and Oceanian Affairs under President Obama (2014–2016). In the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chris led offices with responsibility for South and Southeast Asia (2017–2021) and East Asia (2016–2017). Prior to those roles, he served as Director for Northeast Asia (2010-2014), where he had principal responsibility for developing strategy for the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea alliances.

The Capital Cable is made possible through general support to CSIS.