US President Donald Trump will embark on a five-day tour of Asia on Friday, seeking to showcase his deal-making credentials in a region unsettled by his own trade policies, as questions linger over a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The trip — his first to the region and the longest abroad since his re-election in January — will take him to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. The White House formally announced the visit on Thursday, but officials acknowledged that the schedule, including the planned Trump-Xi meeting, remains fluid.

Trump is expected to pursue trade and business agreements and to finalize a ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. The deal would cement a truce reached in July after the worst border clashes in years, though it stops short of a full peace settlement.

The US president also hopes to bolster what he calls his “signature foreign policy success” — a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict — even as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on and Washington’s trade confrontation with Beijing intensifies.

Tariffs between the United States and China remain high, with both sides threatening further restrictions on critical minerals and technologies. Preparatory talks between the two governments have focused on managing disputes rather than striking a major breakthrough.

Officials familiar with discussions said a limited interim agreement remains possible, potentially involving partial tariff relief or Chinese commitments to purchase US-made soybeans and Boeing aircraft. However, Beijing has yet to confirm any meeting with Trump.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the potential Xi encounter as a “pull-aside,” while Trump told reporters he expected “a pretty long meeting” to address mutual “questions and doubts.”

Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the trip would test the coherence of Trump’s Asia strategy, defined by economic pressure and demands for greater defense spending. “The high-level question on this trip is really, who does the United States stand with, and what does it stand for,” she said.