This week is a busy one for international travel relating to trade. That means road trips for government officials from national leaders to chief negotiators, especially from Asia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping should grab a lot of headlines this week.
He's on his first overseas trip of the year, in Southeast Asia, reminding several countries that China is their top trading partner. That goes for all three of his stops this week — Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
It's also the case for Japan and South Korea, not to mention the majority of Asia as well as Australia.
While that's been the case for some time, it does add a level of complexity to the current environment of tariff plans and threats, in part because of the practice of transshipment.
One example is when Chinese goods go through another country on their way to a third destination, say going to Vietnam and then to the United States.
Up to now that's meant a lower tariff rate than coming directly from China, but that's likely to be a topic of trade talks between Southeast Asian economies and the United States.
Other topics are likely to top the agenda for South Korea and Japan. One South Korean cabinet minister was already in Washington at the end of last week; another is headed there as soon as next week.
On Monday, Japan's prime minister confirmed the Economic Revitalization Minister will lead the trade delegation from Tokyo.
