In an effort to put an end to the brutal trade war between the biggest economies in the world, US President Donald Trump travelled to Japan on Monday, the second stop on his Asia tour, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Over the weekend, Washington and Beijing sent out optimistic messages about the likelihood of reaching an agreement, which contributed to Japan's Nikkei rising beyond 50,000 points on Monday for the first time.
Before meeting with Sanae Takaichi, the country's new prime minister, on Tuesday, Trump is anticipated to arrive in Tokyo in time for a nighttime audience with the Emperor of Japan.
The US president claimed to have heard "great things about her" and praised her for being an ally of Trump's close friend and slain former premier Shinzo Abe.

According to Takaichi, she informed Trump prior to the meeting that her administration's "top priority on the diplomatic and security front" was to fortify the Japan-US partnership.
The harshest of the tariffs that Trump imposed on nations worldwide to stop what he claims are unfair trade balances that are "ripping off the United States" have not applied to Japan.
"Going to be fantastic."
Trump's first trip to the region since taking office began Sunday with a flurry of deals in Malaysia.
On the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Kuala Lumpur, this included rewarding neighbours Thailand and Cambodia with trade agreements following their co-signing of a peace treaty.

After months of animosity, he also agreed to a trade and mineral deal with Malaysia and made efforts to patch things up with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Trump said, "I think we'll be able to do some pretty good deals," to the leader of the left.
During a refuelling stop en route to Malaysia, Trump managed to meet with the leaders of Qatar and discuss the precarious truce in Gaza.
Trump made his first trip to Kuala Lumpur as president, and two Malaysian F-18 fighters escorted his plane before he performed his signature arm-waving dance on the red carpet.
A deal with China continues to be Trump's greatest goal.

China's Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have already met for two days to discuss trade in an attempt to reach a deal to avert further 100 percent tariffs that are scheduled to take effect on November 1.
A "preliminary consensus" has been reached, according to Li Chenggang, China's vice minister of trade.
Bessent told ABC that the additional duties had been avoided and that an agreement had been made on American soybean exports and rare earths.
Bessent told ABC that the additional duties had been avoided and that an agreement had been made on American soybean exports and rare earths.
"It's going to be great for China, great for us," Trump said in Kuala Lumpur to reporters.

"Open" to meet
South Korea, where Trump will meet Xi for the first time since taking office again, is anticipated to be the trip's high point.

Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Trump is scheduled to arrive in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday. He will meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Following a recent spat over Beijing's rare earth limitations, international markets will be closely monitoring whether Thursday's meeting with Xi will end the trade war that Trump's broad tariffs have provoked.
Trump's statement that he was "open to it" further fuelled rumours that he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while on the Korean peninsula.

The Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the border region dividing the two Koreas, was the site of the two leaders' most recent meeting in 2019.
The reunification minister of South Korea has stated that there is a "considerable" likelihood that Trump and Kim will sit down.
Kim has stated that if Washington relents its demand that Pyongyang surrender its nuclear arsenal, he would also be amenable to meeting with the US president.