President Donald Trump’s first official visit to Asia from today will certainly be challenged by North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programme, but a persisting US trade deficit with many countries in the continent may also be on top of his agenda.
Trump has often named Asia, China and Japan in particular, as a source of American economic woes. 
He had even gone to the extent of calling China a “currency manipulator”. During his campaign last year he had said, “China is killing us by devaluing yuan”.
Trump’s argument was that yuan’s devaluation makes it harder for American companies to compete against Chinese products. Subsequently, the US President has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese goods.
The US has complained about its trade deficit with China, which stood at $347bn last year, and about China’s restrictions on access for foreign companies in sectors such as energy, telecommunications and cars.
In September, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hit out at China, calling it one of the most protectionist in the world as he criticised Chinese subsidies to companies.
Trump’s 12-day trip to Asia takes him out of Washington at a time when he has been beset by several issues including an intensifying federal investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s US Presidential election.
Some of the Asian countries, which Trump will visit this week, are part the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, from which the US has decided to pull out. 
Analysts say this has left the other 11 members bereft of the agreement’s targeted $12tn anchor consumer market. The remaining TPP countries, from Canada to Brunei, are now thrashing out a framework to ahead with the TPP, but without the US. 
President Trump has already made it clear that he prefers country-to-country agreements than multi-nation deals such as the TPP. He is expected to push for the removal of barriers to investment from US companies.
Hence, it is likely that country-specific agreements could be discussed during Trump’s stops in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Manila and Hanoi this week. 
Trump’s upcoming Asia visit will be the longest to the region by any US president in the past 25 years.
America’s top six trading partners include China, Japan and South Korea, the others being Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
TPP was one of the centrepieces of former President Barack Obama’s so-called “Asia pivot,” an economic, political and military realignment toward a region seen as key to America’s future.
Having clearly made his stand vis-à-vis TPP and trade deficits with various countries, it is certain that President Trump will argue for more equitable trade relations and free-market principles.
While in Beijing, Trump is expected to push Chinese President Xi Jinping to get tougher with Pyongyang.
But whether President Trump will succeed in putting the nuclear North Korea under pressure remains to be seen although he has already admitted “we have a problem called North Korea.”

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