47th ASEAN Summit: Nearly two dozen world leaders have arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit. The three-day event is expected to discuss Asia’s current economic and political situation. From trade tensions to regional security, the event will focus on some of the most pressing challenges in Southeast Asia right now.
The summit will begin on Sunday, October 26, and continue until Tuesday, October 28, with leaders from around the world, including US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Li Qiang meeting on the sidelines.
Trump and Xi’s Meeting
US President Donald Trump has left for a week-long visit to Asia. A key moment of the trip will be Trump’s confirmed meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. The two leaders are expected to talk about trade tensions, rare earth exports, and China’s soybean imports from the US. “I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One before his departure. He also said he would raise the issue of fentanyl trafficking, adding, “I want our farmers to be taken care of. And he wants things also.”
Trump has now arrived Kuala Lumpur for the annual ASEAN Summit, which will bring together leaders from across Southeast Asia and beyond.
10 key updates from the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur
- The 47th ASEAN Summit is being held in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur and will be attended by the leaders of 10 core member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. These nations represent over 678 million people and a combined GDP of nearly $4 trillion.
- Several global leaders will also be in attendance, closely observing the discussions. Apart from Trump and Li Qiang, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon are attending. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak is representing Moscow, while India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate virtually.
- Also in attendance are Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- Heads of major global institutions like the IMF, World Bank, ILO, and FIFA are also taking part in select sessions.
- A peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand is scheduled to be signed during the summit. The agreement will mark the end of the deadly border conflict that started in July and has since claimed dozens of lives and displaced thousands. The signing ceremony will be presided over by President Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
- Trump’s tariffs will also be discussed in Kuala Lumpur. “Pretty much everyone wants face time with Trump or his team to talk about their deal,” said Marco Foster, ASEAN Director at Dezan Shira & Associates.
- Myanmar’s acting president, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is skipping the summit as the country continues to struggle with a civil war that began in 2021. The crisis has made Myanmar ineligible to chair the ASEAN summit next year. The Philippines will instead take that role.
- After Malaysia, US President Donald Trump’s tour will continue to Japan and South Korea. In Japan, Trump will meet the country’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, who recently became the first woman to hold the post.
- Japan and South Korea are expected to confirm investment commitments worth around $900 billion for US manufacturing and infrastructure projects, according to Associated Press. In return, Trump is considering reducing planned tariffs from 25% to 15%.
- Lastly, in Busan, South Korea, Trump is expected to sit down with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. There’s also talk of a possible surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though US officials say it’s not on the president’s schedule.