Trump meets emir and PM en route to Asia summits, Xi talks, hails role in Gaza peace efforts

US President Donald Trump met on Saturday with Qatar’s emir and prime minister, a key partner in maintaining the fragile Gaza ceasefire, as he embarked on a high-profile Asia tour that includes pivotal trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The discussions came amid an Israeli airstrike targeting an alleged Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza, despite the ceasefire brokered with US support.

Trump is scheduled to meet Xi in South Korea at the conclusion of his regional visit, aiming to resolve the ongoing trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies. He also expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the trip, which will include stops in Malaysia and Japan — his first Asia visit since returning to the White House in January.

The meeting took place aboard Air Force One at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, home to the US military’s regional headquarters, where Trump was greeted by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

“What we’ve done is incredible peace to the Middle East, and they were a very big factor in it,” Trump said.

He did not take questions before reporters were ushered out.

Earlier, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he hoped for a “very good meeting” with Xi, adding that he expected China to make a deal to avoid further 100 percent tariffs that are due to come into effect on November 1.

He also fueled speculation that he could meet Kim for the first time since 2019, when they met in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas during the Republican’s first term in office.

“I’m open to it,” Trump said.

Asked if he would consider North Korea’s demand to be recognized as a nuclear state as a precondition for talks, Trump replied: “Well, I think they are sort of a nuclear power… They got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that.”

Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.

Peace and trade deals

Trump’s first stop will be Malaysia, where he arrives on Sunday, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit – a meeting he skipped several times in his first term.

Trump is set to sign a trade deal with Malaysia, and will witness the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia in his continued quest for a Nobel Peace Prize.

He said he also expected to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the summit to improve ties with the leftist leader after months of bad blood.

The US president’s next destination is Tokyo. He will meet Japan’s first woman prime minister Sanae Takaichi, a conservative, on Tuesday.

Takaichi said Saturday that she had a “good and candid” initial conversation with Trump.

Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States.”

Trump and Xi

The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, with Trump due in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, address an APEC lunch with business leaders and meet US tech bosses for dinner on the sidelines of the summit in the city of Gyeongju.

He will meet Xi on Thursday for the first time since his return to office.

Global markets will be watching closely to see if they can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare-earth curbs.

A US Treasury spokesman told AFP that US and Chinese officials in Malaysia had concluded a day of “very constructive” trade talks, which are expected to resume on Sunday.

Trump said he would also discuss fentanyl with Xi, as he raises pressure on Beijing to curb trafficking of the powerful opioid and cracks down on Latin American drug cartels.