U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are mixing business with pleasure on the second day of the multi-day summit between the two leaders.
A day after President Trump declared at the White House an alliance between the two countries is a cornerstone of peace in the East Asian region, Trump and Abe were driven Saturday morning to Trump’s golf course near his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Moments before the presidential motorcade arrived, it crossed an intersection with a couple of dozen protesters carrying signs, some of which read “Stop Hate” and “Resist.”
The two leaders began two days of talks at the White House Friday morning that provided them with opportunities to reinforce a long-established security treaty and bolster their economic relationship.
On trade
Abe said Friday he and Trump reached agreement on a new framework for economic talks and that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal would be among the topics of discussion. Trump said any trading relationship between the two countries must be “free, fair and reciprocal.”
Japan has been concerned about the impact Trump’s decision to withdraw from the TPP trade agreement, and “America First” strategy, would have on Asia.
President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Feb. 10, 2017.
Abe expressed hope of developing a joint economic stimulus package that could create thousands of U.S. jobs through private and public investments in infrastructure.
The meeting with Abe would be the most time Trump has spent with a foreign leader since he became president on January 20. It is Trump’s second face-to-face meeting with a key ally after hosting British Prime Minister Theresa May in Washington two weeks ago.
‘We will work together’
The Trump administration set a positive tone for the weekend summit by saying before Abe’s arrival at the White House that Trump is committed to resisting any unilateral declarations that would threaten Japan’s authority over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
At the Friday news conference, Trump reaffirmed that commitment, as well as one ensuring safety in the region.
“We will work together to promote our shared interests …including freedom of navigation and defending against the North Korean missile and nuclear threat, both of which I consider a very, very high priority,” he said.
Japan’s concerns about Trump’s campaign promise to get Japan and other U.S. allies to pay more for their own defense were allayed somewhat by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a visit last week to Japan and South Korea.
Trump’s meeting with Japan’s prime minister occurs as the new U.S. administration appears to be adopting a more traditional U.S. policy toward Asia that features consolidating alliances and collaboration with China.
Late Thursday, Trump reaffirmed America’s long-standing “One China” policy in a telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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