President Trump continues his Asian travels today, with China as his latest stop. While North Korea has been drawing much of the attention on this current trip, business issues are not far below the surface. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
When President Trump started his Pacific travels in Hawai‘i, an early stop was Pacific Command.
He also visited U.S. military personnel in Japan and South Korea, and talked about working with allies to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons ambitions.
But trade is another consistent theme.
In Japan, there was an event at the U. S. ambassador’s residence for U.S. and Japanese business executives—with special praise for Japanese companies which have built factories in the United States.
In Seoul, commerce was at the center of a special dinner at the presidential residence.
The JoongAng Daily reports more than 120 people were invited—a little more than half from South Korea, the rest from the United States.
Guests included the prime minister and the heads of the National Assembly and the Supreme Court, a handful of academics and some cultural figures.
But many at the dinner were business executives, with special attention for companies recently making or promising investments in the United States—and not just cars or consumer electronics.
In June, Samsung signed a deal to build home appliances in South Carolina.
In August, LG Electronics held a ground-breaking ceremony for a home appliance factory in Tennessee.
Now it’s on to China—where North Korea will remain a top agenda item, but business won’t be far behind.
