For Trump, Asia is an important economic area – with potentially many trade deals.

US President Donald Trump has begun his multi-day trip to three Asian countries. His meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday is eagerly awaited. The two economies have been locked in a trade conflict for some time.

According to a high-ranking US official, the trip, which will include stops in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, will primarily focus on trade talks. Here's what Trump plans to do in Asia:

The first stop is Kuala Lumpur, where Trump will land overnight into Sunday (Central European Time, local time, morning). Trump plans to attend the signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, where the US mediated the conflict. In July, heavy fighting broke out between the two countries along their 800-kilometer-long border.

The two Southeast Asian neighbors had negotiated for days before the summit on contentious points in the agreement. According to the Thai Ministry of Defense, there is a consensus on various issues, such as the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the border area and joint mine clearance.

The fighting left more than 40 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from the region. After Trump intervened in the conflict, both countries agreed to an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire at a meeting in Malaysia at the end of July. Trump threatened economic consequences if the ceasefire was not met.

Since then, incidents have continued in the border region, but the ceasefire has largely held. The conflict between the two countries has been simmering for decades.

Trump will also meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday and with other heads of state and government in the evening (local time) at the ASEAN summit of Southeast Asian nations.

According to Beijing, China and the US plan to continue their negotiations on the ongoing trade and tariff conflict in Malaysia. Trump has attended an ASEAN summit once so far: during his first term in office, he traveled to the meeting of the international community in the Philippine capital, Manila, in 2017.

The trip then continues to Japan, where the US President will likely be received by Emperor Naruhito.

Trump plans to meet with business leaders in Japan, among other things. He will also visit US troops stationed in Japan, the high-ranking US official added. Also on the agenda is a meeting with Japan's new nationalist-conservative Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. She recently described the security alliance with Japan's protecting power, the United States, as a "cornerstone" of her foreign and security policy.

According to the US, Trump will deliver a speech to business representatives in South Korea, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will take place at the end of October. He will also meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and there will also be a state banquet.

The two countries are close to concluding a trade deal that is expected to include a reduction of the punitive tariffs imposed by Trump from 25 percent to 15 percent. In return, the US president is demanding $350 billion in South Korean investments in the US. It is still unclear within what timeframe Seoul will make these investments.

The bilateral meeting with Xi is scheduled for Thursday in Busan, South Korea. US media had previously raised the question of whether the US might shift its stance on Taiwan's independence in favor of China with a view to the trade talks. According to the senior US official, however, the focus will be on trade. The US has no intention of addressing any other issues.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, even though the island, with its approximately 23 million inhabitants, has been governed independently for decades. Annexing Taiwan is one of the most important goals of China's communist government. Beijing has repeatedly threatened to use military force if it fails to achieve this peacefully. The United States is Taiwan's most important ally.

In the run-up to the trip, media had speculated whether there might also be a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump recently left this open and didn't give a specific answer. He had long expressed his willingness to meet in the future. However, according to the high-ranking US official, this is not on the agenda for this trip.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met several times during the US president's first term in office. So far, the US government remains committed to its goal of complete nuclear denuclearization in North Korea. The country is subject to far-reaching UN sanctions and additional US sanctions because of its nuclear program.