President Trump’s Travels Consolidated the Strategic Leadership of the United States under the America First Doctrine
The travels of President Donald J. Trump fulfill precise strategic objectives as part of his America First platform, a transformation in the direction of the U.S. and its leading role in the world.
President Donald J. Trump’s tours through the Middle East, Europe, and now Asia have underscored the significance of a radical change in Washington’s foreign policy concerning the economy, defense, technology, and global trade.
One of his purposes is to achieve peace and eliminate armed conflicts in as many regions of the world as possible, as soon as possible. In some places, that peace may be fragile and conditional, but in other cases, it will be a great advance in the 21st century.
Peace, the economy, control of invasive immigration, and national security were key campaign pillars for the Republican leader in 2024, when more than 77 million Americans delivered him a resounding electoral victory last November.
Trump’s trips during his second presidential term meet precise and well-defined strategic goals within his America First platform—a historic and transformative change in the direction of the U.S. and its leading global role, where until very recently an economic elite—with China at the helm—was attempting to impose a new globalist, anti-Western, and anti-American order.
At the economic, commercial, military, and geopolitical levels, President Trump has consolidated the position of the United States and Western capitalism as traditional guides in the course and destiny of the planet, contrary to what was being proposed just four years ago by China and Washington’s adversaries: a New World Order.
U.S. Geostrategic and Trade Redesign
The Asia tour, which began with door-knocking in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held, gave Trump the opportunity to lay the strategic foundations of the U.S. in that key region, which until now China had boasted of almost totally controlling.
The Trump administration’s efforts have left the Chinese communist regime impatient and disoriented, having been encouraged during the last 12 years of far-left Democratic governments toward an accelerated economic, military, strategic, and espionage expansion unprecedented in almost all regions of the planet.
In South Korea, the last stop on his Asia tour, Trump closed a $350 billion trade deal, which includes Washington’s authorization for the construction in the U.S. of a nuclear-powered submarine.
But the most significant event in South Korea was the nearly two-hour meeting between the White House occupant and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Both leaders agreed to reduce tensions and ease measures imposed in recent months as part of the trade confrontation between the two powers.
Washington will cut some tariffs, and Beijing will maintain the flow of vital “rare earth” supplies, while the U.S. president described his first face-to-face meeting with Jinping in six years as “a great success.”
For his part, the Chinese leader referred to “an important consensus” to resolve the confrontation.
After the meeting, it was revealed that the Asian giant would “immediately purchase enormous quantities of soybeans and other agricultural products.”
Regarding “rare earths,” essential for industries such as defense and technology, Trump specified that a one-year renewable agreement had been signed to guarantee supply from China.
The Asian country’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that it would suspend certain export restrictions for one year, including those on “rare earths.”
Tensions Ease as Washington Strengthens Its Power
The Beijing regime agreed to intensify actions to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl, which last year was once again the leading cause in the U.S. drug-death epidemic, with more than 300,000 fatalities.
“I imposed a 20% tariff on China due to the influx of fentanyl (…). After Xi’s commitments, I will reduce it to 10%,” said Trump, adding that Beijing “will begin the process of purchasing U.S. energy,” which could include oil and gas from Alaska. Officials from both powers will meet to negotiate the potential “energy agreement.”
Less than an hour before the meeting between the two leaders, Trump instructed “the Department of War to prepare to begin testing” nuclear weapons “on equal terms”—that is, if other countries do it, the U.S. will not be an exception.
The president added that, in terms of nuclear arsenals, China ranks a “distant third” behind the United States and Russia, “but in five years, it will be on par.”
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According to the Oval Office chief, the issue of Taiwan was not mentioned during the dialogue.
Trump called his first face-to-face with Xi in six years “a great success,” while the Chinese leader said that both reached “an important consensus” to resolve the economic conflict.
Trump’s Visit to Malaysia
In Malaysia, Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva talked and apparently smoothed out some rough edges after significant trade tension caused by the new White House tariffs and the “political condemnation” in the South American country of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro to 25 years in prison.
Trump has denounced the judicial sentence against Bolsonaro as very similar to the political persecution he suffered from 2016 to 2024, in addition to assassination attempts.
In Kuala Lumpur, the U.S. president signed several trade agreements and secured commitments for large investments from those countries in the U.S., mainly in raw materials and the exploitation of so-called “rare earths” and minerals—crucial in the modern world’s era of accelerated technological development.
Trump presided over the signing of a major and historic peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, thanks to his personal efforts and the actions undertaken by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom the White House occupant has described as exceptional and thus far the best head of American diplomacy.
This was the 8th peace agreement achieved by the Trump administration in just nine months of the presidency. As a result, several Hispanic American, European, and Asian leaders announced their decision to nominate him again for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, which this year was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
From Malaysia, Trump departed for Japan—one of the United States’ great allies—where Washington maintains a military presence of about 60,000 personnel with high-tech equipment.
“Allies at the Highest Level”
In Tokyo, the U.S. president met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the first woman to govern that country.
The Japanese capital was the second stop on Trump’s Asian tour, after Malaysia and before South Korea, where he participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and met with Jinping.
Although the highlight of the tour was expected to be South Korea, the visit to Japan marked a new direction for bilateral relations, which had been somewhat distant or stagnant over the past two decades.
Even Trump’s first term was not characterized by the intense foreign policy offensive that the Republican leader has carried out in his first nine months since returning to power.
Responding to the praise from Prime Minister Takaichi, Trump assured that the United States and Japan are “allies at the highest level.”
“It is a great honor to be with you, especially so early in what I believe will be one of the best prime ministerial terms in Japan,” Trump added.
Takaichi stated that she “would like to make a new golden age in the alliance between Japan and the United States a reality, in which both countries become stronger and more prosperous.”
Both also signed an agreement to “guarantee” the supply of critical minerals and “rare earths,” indispensable for the technology and defense industries.
Washington has asked U.S. allies to increase their military spending to continue benefiting from American protection.
Japan–U.S.: A Military Counterweight to China
The Japanese leader announced that her country would raise its defense budget to 2% of GDP this year—two years ahead of schedule.
In a meeting aboard the U.S. ship USS George Washington off the coast of Tokyo, Takaichi and Trump were greeted with strong applause.
The two leaders emphasized, before hundreds of U.S. Navy personnel, key issues of bilateral cooperation and the importance of Japan as a military counterweight to the threat and future actions of China.
Takaichi stated that her country is “committed to strengthening its defense capabilities” to face the world’s major security risks.
For his part, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Japan–U.S. alliance is “crucial to deterring Chinese military aggression.”
Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed his country’s plans to accelerate its goals for increasing defense spending.
The two military chiefs met after the first face-to-face between Trump and Takaichi, who has a hardline stance toward China.
Japan, with a long pacifist tradition, has adopted a more militarized position amid the sharp deterioration of its relations with the Chinese communist regime.
“To respond to contingencies and keep our country safe, shoulder to shoulder with Japan, we look forward to continuing to strengthen our alliance,” Hegseth said at the meeting.
“Given that missile capabilities have significantly improved in the area around Japan, I believe it is important to relentlessly strengthen missile defense capabilities,” Koizumi told his U.S. counterpart.
The U.S. president’s visit was received in Japan as a grand celebration and an important political and strategic step for the Japanese prime minister, who at all times showed her admiration for the new U.S. direction under Trump.
Takaichi gifted the conservative leader a golf club that once belonged to the slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe, a friend of Trump, as well as a gold-plated golf ball and a golf bag signed by a Japanese champion, among other presents.
Leonardo Morales, Senior Fellow, MSI²
Originally published by the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute, a nonpartisan and conservative group of experts specializing in policy research, strategic intelligence, and consulting. The opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Institute. More information about the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute is available at www.miastrategicintel.com
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of Gateway Hispanic.
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