Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Lands In Japan For High-Stakes Visit; U.S. And China Agree Framework Of Trade Deal Ahead Of Trump-Xi Meeting. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So many people with so little to survive. Any disruption can make the difference between life and death. Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram threads, Bluesky, X and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X at The Lead, CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts, all two hours just sitting right there. The news continues now on CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers from joining us from the United States and all around the world, I'm Erica Hill in New York.

U.S. President Donald Trump set to arrive in Tokyo at any moment. This will be the second stop of his six-day, three nation tour of Asia aimed at strengthening U.S. diplomatic ties in the region. President Trump is planning to meet with the Japanese emperor and also the newly elected prime minister. This comes after President Trump kicked off his trip in Malaysia.

In a social media post, Trump highlighted what he called major trade deals made during his visit. He also oversaw the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia. On his way Tokyo, the president telling reporters he is open to extending his trip to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

All eyes, though, are on this upcoming summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which is set to take place in South Korea later this week.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. and China have agreed on a framework for a trade deal, importantly following a new round of talks in Malaysia. A lot to cover this morning. CNN's Kristen Holmes and Hanako Montgomery are both in Tokyo for President Trump's visit.

Let's begin first with Kristen. So Kristen, lay out for us here what the president is hoping to accomplish on this trip.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, on this leg of the trip is probably the least high stakes or I guess the lowest stakes of any of his stops because of the relationship the United States already has with Japan. Sure, there have been tensions over tariffs and trade, but the president was asked specifically what he hopes to get out of this portion of the meeting. And he said he wants to show, quote, unquote, great friendship.

So I think you can see there on your screen now he's just arriving, landing. He's going to have a number of people greeting him. It's going to be the ambassador from the U.S. to Japan as well as the Japanese ambassador, the head, the commander of U.S. Forces in Japan is going to be there among other officials who are there to greet him.

And then he is going to go to the Imperial palace where he's going to meet with the emperor then because that is largely a signatory position. It is not a diplomatic position. The big eyes or all eyes are going to be on the big meeting, the bilateral meeting with the new prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi.

This is going to be probably a bigger test for her than it is for him, just given the fact that she has a less diplomatic experience. And he is known to be unpredictable. But moving from that, we know that President Trump has done nothing but praise the prime minister, who is known to be a mentee of Shinzo Abe's, who he is close to including on the plane on the way here. This is what he just said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I look forward to meeting the new prime minister. I hear phenomenal things. She was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend, former prime minister. And he was great. He was one of my best. He was one of the best. And the group he was one of the best, really best.

And I know they were very close and I think philosophically they were close, which is good. It's going to be very good. That really helps Japan and the United States. I think she's going to be great.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. So a lot of praise there going into this very optimistic. Now after that, he's going to visit a U.S. naval base, He's going to give a speech on an aircraft carrier and then he's going to have dinner with business executives in Tokyo before going to South Korea.

Of course, all of this really is serving as the backdrop to the most anticipated part of this trip, which is this first sit down meeting with China's President Xi. Of course, as you noted, Erica, I mean, they've now said they have a framework for a trade deal. It's still unclear what they're going to be announcing out of this meeting. It's been billed as a sit down, a discussion. They've been clearly trying to come up with a structure going into it so that they have positive results when President Trump does sit down with Xi. HILL: Yes, absolutely, Kristen, thank you. And we are watching Air

Force One taxiing in here now in Tokyo. Hanako Montgomery also joining us. This is quite a moment for the newly elected Prime Minister, Hanako.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, you're absolutely right. I mean, Sanae Takaichi was just elected as prime minister a few days ago. So this is a major diplomatic test for the new prime minister. I mean, just days into her premiership.

Now, as Kristen just said, Erica, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, is expected to meet the Japanese Emperor Naruhito in just a couple of hours.

[04:05:04]

I'm actually outside the Imperial palace where Trump is expected to come through and meet the emperor for his fact for a second official meeting with Naruhito. Now, during these talks, Erica, we are expecting the U.S. president and also the Japanese prime minister to get along pretty well. Both are known conservatives, they're nationalists, and they also share a lot of the similar values when it comes to personal and political beliefs.

Now, also, Takaichi is largely expected to lean into her personal relationship that she had with the former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Takaichi was actually Abe's mentee. They worked alongside each other for many, many years as lawmakers of the same party. She actually served in Abe's cabinet when he was prime minister.

Now we are expecting to again lean into that close personal relationship she shared with Abe to get closer to Trump as well, because Trump had a very good relationship with Abe. I mean, they enjoyed many rounds of golf together. They enjoyed Japanese food. They enjoyed watching sumo. I mean, they had very colorful relationship.

In fact, some of my sources, Erica, told me that Takaichi will actually engage in a bit of gulf diplomacy during this trip as well. They won't actually have time to get down to a golf course. But Takaichi is expected to gift Trump some golden golf balls, perhaps also a golf club that Trump used when he used to play golf with Abe. So again, we are expecting pretty close relationships between Takaichi and, of course, Trump.

But, Erica, I do have to note here that trade will be top of agenda for Japan. Even though the U.S. and Japan have agreed to a trade agreement, there is that $550 billion investment deal that still needs to be hashed out. Japan has no idea where that money will go, how that money will be spent, but it is a huge sum for Japan. It's actually more than a tenth of Japan's entire annual economy. So they are hoping to hash out details about that.

My sources have said that potentially we could see Japan talking about buying more U.S. soybeans, also more U.S. pickup trucks to sort of sweeten the deal when it comes to Trump. But again, very high stakes for Takaichi as she enters her first very significant diplomatic meeting with the U.S. President, Donald Trump.

HILL: Absolutely. Lots to watch for there. Hanako, Kristen, thank you both. Of course, as we are looking at these live pictures now from Tokyo, stairs being moved up to Air Force One as the president of the United States, of course, arrives there in Japan. We're going to continue to monitor those questions. And of course, should anything be said to cameras, we'll bring those to you as well.

I also want to bring in Seijiro Takeshita, who's a professor of management and information at the University of Shizuoka. It's good to have you with us this morning as we look ahead to these important meetings.

As Kristen and Hanako were just laying out, there is a lot, of course, riding on this for the newly elected prime minister and a lot for both nations as we look for more details on what has been hashed out in broad strokes. What will you be watching for in this initial meeting for the two in these roles?

SEIJIRO TAKESHITA, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION, UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA: Well, actually, the most important act here is, of course, security measures. I mean, the defense measures. And to reaffirm the point that, you know, we have to strengthen our and relationship in order to fight off the threat that we're feeling from, you know, Russia and China in particular.

And if you're looking at the group cohesion, you know, what better than to have a common enemy, as we all know. And in that sense, Japan and U.S. is just perfectly a perfect match together. So we have the same aim, but we need to reaffirm this, especially with China raising their hand to participate in many areas in economic terms like CPTPP or DPA, reset all these things. They're trying to basically take away the power of hegemony from the United States.

And as the United States is actually losing its leadership in these areas, I think it's a very wobbly moment for many of the leaders in Asia as we speak.

HILL: You talk about this being a wobbly moment for many, many leaders across the region, given that, what are you anticipating could come out of specifically this meeting, as you noted, the importance of China for both U.S. and Japan in those relationships.

And of course, as we're watching these meetings ahead of what we're expecting later this week, the meeting between President Trump and President Xi, that alignment, how important could that be moving forward not just for the relationship with Japan, but for these other key leaders in the region.

TAKESHITA: Especially for this region as a whole. Yes. I think there will be some request by the Trump administration to increase the level of spending on the military side by the Japanese. We already have 1.8 percent GDP and it's really a big deal in Japan. But the request could be much higher.

And to obtain, you know, the funds for that will be another very big headache for Ms. Takaichi and her regime.

[04:10:00]

But that is most likely the request to come from the Trump administration as far as the issue is concerned. So that they have to cope with. But, you know, for issues which hadn't been talked about, especially relationship with Taiwan, to assure that we have the borderline against China is very important. So this is probably another agenda that, you know, Ms. Takaichi want to bring out with President Trump.

HILL: Absolutely. And what about Japan's relationship with South Korea?

TAKESHITA: Well, you know, that's a very tricky one because obviously there's a lot of political motives. There have been a lot of political motives in South Korea in order to basically bash Japan when they want to increase their vote or popularity by the politicians, which really makes, you know, the animosity between these two countries.

And unfortunately, the level of trust between two countries are very at the rock bottom. That certainly is not a good thing for the security of the bloc that we were just talking about. So, obviously, we need a third party, like the United States, for example, to really come in and cement the relationship back again.

But unfortunately, you know, a lot of foreign delegates and especially leaders are looking at the United States with a very doubtful eye, not Ms. Takaichi, because as you just reported, she has a very good friendship, probably will be established with President Trump.

But that said, you know, a lot of leaders and a lot of economic leaders are in very doubtful eyes with the United States, which is running toward democracy, to say the least. So, you know, there's a lot of questions, you know, that's going forward as far as the trade issue is concerned.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And we're seeing President Trump arriving there, of course, being greeted as he just made his way down the stairs from Air Force One, arriving here in Tokyo for these meetings. I mean, you talk about the questions, too. What's important is, you know, when we're looking for more clarity, even just in terms of this investment that Japan has pledged, which is, you know, as my colleague Hanako was wondering, this is more than a tenth of Japan's economy just in terms of that investment pledge.

But the details, which in many of these trade deals have been light early on from the US. How much of those important details do you think will actually be hashed out and will we know about following some of these meetings?

TAKESHITA: Well, you know, the Japanese are feeling the relief because initially, for example, tariff on automobile is 25, and that's been reduced to 15. But in my opinion, you know, Trump administration is just playing a game of poker because there is no logical consistency in the number that they're coming up with is it 15 or 10 or 5, whatever.

So you know, the Japanese are looking at this, you know, they may be very quiet about this, but they're looking at this very carefully. And of course with the request to the Trump administration, of course there will be a transfer of production base to the United States. All the tariff that they're giving possibly away from Mexico into the United States, Canada into the United States, et cetera.

But that said, if you're talking about long term commitment, you know, you have to think it's a country that's running toward anocracy and coming basically, you know, regressing back into the old trade methodology of protectionism. You know, do you really want to make a long term commitment to a country like that? That is a very big question.

And you know, of course many people won't, you know, voice this out as -- I'm not sure, you know, the CEO. But you know, I am absolutely sure this is something that's on back of their head. So you know, this investment might, you know, short to mid-term to mitigate, you know, the loss that they might be feeling from this deal or so called deal that Trump administration is making.

But you know, really have a long term structural type of investment that will come into the United States. I'm very doubtful about that.

HILL: Yes, it'll be interesting to see a number of pledges. But how they play out, of course, not just from Japan, but from another of nations is a large question across the globe at this hour. When we look at the test for the new prime minister, give us the view from Japan. What is -- what is being made of this visit by President Trump of this initial meeting with the newly elected prime minister -- judges, how much is riding on it from the Japanese perspective?

TAKESHITA: Well, firstly of course it's the security measures, it's the military measures. We need a security in the area first of all, and as I just said, you know, we have over 120 base, U.S. base here in Japan and we like to reaffirm that relationship, especially as we're getting the threat from China, you know, more so than ever. So that's the first thing.

And secondly, of course the trade issue. But I think they won't get in too much, you know, in this arena. It's more like a handshake reaffirming the friendship, which I think is very, very important. You know, the Legacy of late, Mr. Abe, you know, the positive legacy still lives on, you know, and that is basically reflected to the relationship I hope of Mr. Donald Trump and Ms. Takaichi.

[04:15:06]

So, you know, I think it would be a ground -- good ground for going forward from here onwards, especially in areas of economy and trade going further. But I don't think they might -- they probably won't get into something too much of a detail, I think, at this point.

HILL: Yes. Seijiro Takeshita, great to have your perspective. Thank you for joining us with your expertise this morning. TAKESHITA: Thank you.

HILL: And we see here, of course, these live pictures we're showing you of the president preparing there onto his next stop as he arrives in Tokyo as part of this Asia tour. Kristen Holmes and Hanako Montgomery are still with us as well.

Kristen, when we look at this, for the president, this is such a long tour, so many important meetings laid out for him as part of this trip. But this relationship with Japan, as we've just been discussing, is key for the president, not only in terms of U.S. security as well as we know, but also in terms of how he can play that across the region as well. Kristen.

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. I mean, this is a key relationship. We know that President Trump has talked about this relationship. Both sides believe that this is one of the most important relationships and alliances that they have.

I do want to kind of go back to what your last guest was just talking about, because I don't think you can underplay here how the relationship with Shinzo Abe is going to play into the meeting that the current prime minister, the new prime minister has with President Trump.

I mean, when you look at President Trump on the world stage, particularly in his first term, you see that he didn't have a lot of connections to world leaders. He didn't have a lot of relationships with various world leaders. He truly believed that he had a special relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

We've heard Abe say similar, that they played golf together, as we know, and shared meals. But even so much so that Abe's wife went down to Mar-a-Lago and has visited the family after his death. We know that he has maintained this kind of picture of Abe as this world leader who is also his close ally.

So the idea of him being a mentor to the new prime minister is going to play a huge role. We also know that the new prime minister has kept on or has brought on some of Abe's old advisers to her team, people who worked for president -- work with President Trump in the first term, people he has a rapport with. So that's also going to play a role into all of this.

And now, of course, you know, when it comes to the trade deal, when it comes to actually wheeling and dealing, does it seem like they're going to get into the nitty-gritty? Likely not. It's going to be obviously very important for Japan to kind of iron out some of those details to go through what this investment is actually going to look like, as well as to kind of try to sweeten the pot by offering certain purchases, American purchases.

But again, the meeting itself is going to be so critical. And when you talk to White House officials and sources close to President Trump, he is really looking forward to that part of the trip. He's looking forward to this entire leg of the trip. He loves going to the imperial palace. He loves meeting with the emperor.

And he's very excited to meet the new prime minister given her relationship with Abe. So going into this, that's why you're hearing him so optimistic. He's not generally this optimistic about meeting someone for the first time. But that kind of sets the table for you as to why he's so looking forward to this.

HILL: Absolutely. Kristen, Hanako, appreciate it. Thank you both. We'll continue to check in with you, of course. Much more to come here on CNN as our live coverage continues of the U.S. President's visit to Asia, just arriving there in Tokyo. Stay with us. Much more ahead after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:23:16]

HILL: U.S. President Donald Trump arriving moments ago in Tokyo for the next leg of his trip to Asia. And while Japan is of course, a focus today, we're also looking ahead to his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.

We're learning more about some of the major points at a potential trade deal framework that has been mentioned now by the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Scott Bessent says China will make, in his words, substantial purchases of U.S. soybeans after previously stopping those orders.

Presidents Trump and Xi are also expected to finalize a transfer of the ownership of TikTok so it can continue to operate in the United States. The White House may lift or reduce a tariff on chemicals exported from China used to create the dangerous drug fentanyl. The deal could also speed up America's access to rare earths in China. That is obviously a key point.

News of the potential deal between the U.S. and China having a positive impact on the markets at this hour. U.S. futures as you see there, all up as a result, all three major indices pointing higher. The major markets in Asia seeing a boost as well during early trading on Monday.

Currently, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai are all, as you see there in positive territory. Kristie Lu Stout is following these developments on the trade deal for us from Hong Kong. Kristie, good to see you as always. So when it comes to this framework of the deal, what more do we know? What insight do we have in terms of what this could ultimately look like?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we are getting some insights, global investors as well, and that's why we're seeing those green arrows across the board. They are pleased with the progress. U.S. and China have agreed on a framework for a trade deal and that in turn is just easing the tensions ahead of that highly anticipated meeting between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.

[04:25:00]

Now over the weekend, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we heard from the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said that he expects China to delay its export curbs on rare earth minerals for a year. As you may remember, the U.S. President Donald Trump earlier threatened to impose new 100 percent tariffs on China. For doing what? For imposing those export curbs on rare earth minerals.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is in the region. He is confident. He is confident that he's going to secure another trade truce with China. As for the Chinese, they're taking more of a cautious approach. I want you to listen to what we heard earlier from Li Chenggang, who is China's top trade negotiator. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI CHENGGANG, CHINESE VICE COMMERCE MINISTER (through translator): The U.S. position has been tough. Whereas China has been firm in defending its own interests and rights over the past more than a day's time, we have experienced very intense consultations and engaged in constructive exchanges and exploring solutions and arrangements to address these concerns.

The two sides have reached preliminary extraordinary consensus on these issues. And next we are each going to go through our domestic internal approval processes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, rare earths have been a major sticking point in the U.S.-China trade relationship. And China absolutely dominates the global supply of rare earths are found in everything from our smartphones to our screens, to our electric vehicles, to looking in the defense infrastructure sector, missiles, drones and fighter jets. And Donald Trump wants to keep the flow of rare earths flowing.

Now, in addition to rare earths, other topics came up during U.S. trying to trade talks, including fentanyl, namely the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China to the United States, U.S. port entry fees and TikTok. In fact, Scott Bessent said that a, quote, final deal has been reached and that Xi and Trump will quote, in his words, consummate the deal when they meet in South Korea later this week.

And Erica, I should add, on the Chinese side, still no official confirmation yet whether or not that meeting between Trump and Xi is in fact going to take place. Back to you, Erica.

HILL: Yes, which is certainly important when we get there. If we get there, though, looking at what we heard from Scott Bessent, that this could be the TikTok deal specifically could be consummated, right, with that meeting.

LU STOUT: Yes.

HILL: All the issues that you laid out that are so key here in terms of those being addressed, that is also a question is how much else could come out of this meeting.

LU STOUT: Yes. You know, it's also expected that Donald Trump is going to urge Xi Jinping to join the U.S. pressure campaign on Russia, U.S. knows this. The world knows this. Russia and China have a close relationship, economically, militarily, politically. China has been softening the blow of sanctions by buying Russian energy. China parrots Russian talking points, refusing to call the war a Russian invasion. For example, there have been military drills taking place between China and Russia.

Donald Trump wants to get China onside to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. In addition, a number of other issues. You mentioned soybeans, but Russia will definitely come up in those talks. Back to you. If they happen. Erica, back to you.

HILL: Yes, if they happen. That is a very important if. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thank you.

Still ahead here this hour, how the U.S. government shutdown could soon impact millions of Americans who rely on food assistance benefits. Also, an update in the Louvre crown jewel heist investigation. What police are now saying in France about the two suspects they have in custody. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]