US President Donald Trump has received a royal welcome in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump, on his longest journey abroad since taking office in January, announced deals with four Southeast Asian countries during the first stop in Malaysia and will conclude his trip at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Negotiators from the world's top two economies hashed out a framework on Sunday for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls, US officials said - news that drove Asian stocks to record peaks.

"I've got a lot of respect for President Xi and I think we're going to come away with a deal," Trump told reporters on Air F

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