WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, fresh off patching up ties with China, reassured Japan’s leader that the U. S. will defend its close ally. Together, the pronouncements illustrated a shift toward a more mainstream Trump stance on U. S. policy toward Asia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, fresh off patching up ties with China, reassured Japan’s leader that the U. S. will defend its close ally. Together, the pronouncements illustrated a shift toward a more mainstream Trump stance on U. S. policy toward Asia.
Welcoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House with a hug, Trump said Friday he wants to bring the post-World War II alliance with Japan “even closer. ” While such calls are ritual after these types of meetings, from Trump they’re sure to calm anxieties that he has stoked by demanding that America’s partners pay more for their own defense.
Abe, a nationalist adept at forging relationships with self-styled strongmen overseas, was the only world leader to meet the Republican before his inauguration. He is now the second to do so since Trump took office. Flattering the billionaire businessman, Abe said he would welcome the United States becoming “even greater. ”
He also invited Trump to visit Japan this year. Trump accepted, according to a joint statement.
Other leaders of America’s closest neighbors and allies, such as Mexico, Britain and Australia, have been singed by their encounters or conversations with Trump.
But the optics Friday were positive. After a working lunch on economic issues, the two leaders boarded Air Force One with their wives for a trip to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Trump and Abe are scheduled to play golf Saturday.
Their Oval Office meeting came hours after Trump reaffirmed Washington’s long-standing “one China” policy in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
