United States presidential visits to East Asia

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An orthographic projection map featuring the countries of East Asia (highlighted in dark green) East Asia (orthographic projection).svg
An orthographic projection map featuring the countries of East Asia (highlighted in dark green)

Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to East Asia. The first presidential trip to a country in East Asia was made by Dwight D. Eisenhower (as president-elect) in 1952. Since then, all presidents, except John F. Kennedy, have traveled to one or more nations in the region while in office.

Contents

To date, 25 visits have been made to Japan, 20 to South Korea, 14 to China [a] , and one each to Mongolia and to North Korea.

Table of visit

PresidentDatesCountriesLocationsKey details
Dwight D. Eisenhower [1] December 2–5, 1952Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea Seoul Visit to Korean combat zone. (Visit made as President-elect.)
June 18–19, 1960Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan Taipei State visit. Met with President Chiang Kai-shek
June 19–20, 1960Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea SeoulMet with Prime Minister Heo Jeong. Addressed the National Assembly.
Lyndon B. Johnson [2] October 31 – November 2, 1966Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea Seoul,
Suwon
State visit. Met with President Park Chung-hee and Prime Minister Chung Il-kwon. Addressed National Assembly.
Richard Nixon [3] February 21–28, 1972Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Shanghai,
Beijing,
Hangzhou
State Visit. Met with Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.
Gerald Ford November 19–22, 1974Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tokyo,
Kyoto
State visit. Met with Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
November 22–23, 1974Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea Seoul Met with President Park Chung-hee.
December 1–5, 1975Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China PekingOfficial visit. Met with Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping
Jimmy Carter [4] June 25–29, 1979Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tokyo,
Shimoda
State visit; met with Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira. Attended the 5th G7 summit.
June 29 – July 1, 1979Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea SeoulState visit. Met with President Park Chung-hee and Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah.
July 9–10, 1980Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoOfficial visit; attended memorial services for former Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira; met with Emperor Hirohito, President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser of Australia, Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda of Thailand, and Premier Hua Guofeng of China.
Ronald Reagan [5] November 9–12, 1983Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoState visit; met with Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and addressed the National Diet.
November 12–14, 1983Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea Seoul,
Demilitarized Zone
State visit. Met with President Chun Doo-hwan. Addressed the National Assembly and visited U.S. troops.
April 26 – May 1, 1984Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Beijing,
Xi'an,
Shanghai
State visit. Met with President Li Xiannian and Premier Zhao Ziyang.
May 2–7, 1986Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoAttended the 12th G7 summit.
George H. W. Bush [6] February 23–25, 1989Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoAttended the funeral of Emperor Hirohito. Met with Emperor Akihito, the kings of Belgium, Jordan and Spain, the presidents of Brazil, Egypt, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal and Zaire, and the prime ministers of Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey.
February 25–27, 1989Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingMet with President Yang Shangkun and Premier Li Peng. Also met with Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
February 27, 1989Flag of South Korea (1984-1997).svg  South Korea SeoulOfficial visit. Addressed the National Assembly.
January 5–7, 1992Flag of South Korea (1984-1997).svg  South Korea SeoulMet with President Roh Tae-woo and senior Korean officials. Also signed a science and technology agreement, addressed the National Assembly, and visited U.S. military personnel.
January 7–10, 1992Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Kyoto,
Kashihara,
Tokyo
Met with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and senior Japanese officials.
Bill Clinton [7] July 6–10, 1993Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoAttended the 19th G7 summit. Met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
July 10–11, 1993Flag of South Korea (1984-1997).svg  South Korea SeoulMet with President Kim Young-sam. Addressed the National Assembly. Visited U.S. military personnel.
April 15–16, 1996 Cheju Island Met with President Kim Young-sam. Proposed four-nation peace talks.
April 16–18, 1996Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoState visit. Issued joint statement on U.S.-Japanese security relations. Addressed the Diet and U.S. Navy personnel.
June 24 – July 3, 1998Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Xi'an,
Beijing,
Shanghai,
Guilin,
Hong Kong
State visit. Met with President Jiang Zemin. Visited the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. Delivered a speech at Peking University.
November 19–20, 1998Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoMet with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi. Addressed American Chamber of Commerce.
November 20–22, 1998Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul,
Osan
Met with President Kim Dae-jung. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
June 8, 2000Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoAttended the funeral of former Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi.
July 21–23, 2000 Nago Attended the 26th G8 summit.
George W. Bush [8] October 18–21, 2001Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China ShanghaiAttended the APEC Summit.
February 16–19, 2002Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoMet with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Addressed the Diet.
February 19–21, 2002Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul,
Dorasan,
Osan
Met with President Kim Dae-jung. Visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
February 21–22, 2002Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingMet with President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji.
October 17–18, 2003Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoMet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
November 15–16, 2005KyotoMet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
November 16–20, 2005Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Pusan,
Gyeongju,
Osan
Attended the APEC Summit. Met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
November 20–21, 2005Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingMet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.
November 21, 2005Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Met with President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and Prime Minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
July 6–9, 2008Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tōyako Attended the 34th G8 summit. Met with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Hu Jintao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
August 5–6, 2008Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea SeoulMet with President Lee Myung-bak. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
August 7–11, 2008Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingAttended the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. Met with President Hu Jintao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Barack Obama [9] November 13–14, 2009Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
November 15–18, 2009Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Shanghai,
Beijing
Met with Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng; also took part in a town hall meeting with Shanghai students. Met with President Hu Jintao, NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao. Visited the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China.
November 18–19, 2009Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul, Osan Met with President Lee Myung-bak. Visited with U.S. troops at Osan Air Base.
November 10–12, 2010Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea SeoulAttended the G-20 Summit. Met with President Lee Myung-bak.
November 12–14, 2010Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Yokohama, Kamakura Attended the APEC Summit. Met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
March 25–27, 2012Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea SeoulAttended the Nuclear Security Summit. Met with President Lee Myung-bak. Visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
April 23–25, 2014Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoMet with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
April 25–26, 2014Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea SeoulMet with President Park Geun-hye. Visited with U.S. troops at Yongsan Garrison.
November 10–12, 2014Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingAttended the APEC Summit. Met with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang. [10]
May 25–27, 2016Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Shima,
Hiroshima
Attended the 42nd G7 summit. Visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
September 3–6, 2016Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Hangzhou Attended the G-20 Summit.
Donald Trump November 5–7, 2017Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
November 7–8, 2017Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul Met with President Moon Jae-in. Addressed the National Assembly.
November 8–10, 2017Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China BeijingMet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
May 25–28, 2019Flag of Japan.svg  Japan TokyoState visit. Met with Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
June 27–29, 2019Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Osaka Attended the G-20 Summit.
June 29–30, 2019Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul,
Korean Demilitarized Zone
Met with President Moon Jae-in. Visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Attended the Koreas–United States DMZ Summit with President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Inter-Korean Freedom House on the southern side of the Joint Security Area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Visited U.S. troops at Osan Air Base.
June 30, 2019Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea Joint Security Area Briefly walked into the northern side of the Joint Security Area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, accompanied by North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korea.
Joe Biden May 20–22, 2022Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul Met with President Yoon Suk-yeol. Visited with U.S. troops at Yongsan Garrison.
May 22–24, 2022Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Attended the QUAD Leaders Summit with Prime Minister Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
May 18–21, 2023Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Hiroshima Attended the 49th G7 summit.

Visits by former presidents

See also

Notes

  1. This is when the United States government recognized the Republic of China as the only legal regime of "China" as president Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Taiwan in 1960. However, Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China on mainland China in 1972 and Gerald Ford in 1975 while maintaining relations with the ROC. 11 other visits to mainland China continued on from 1979 onwards following recognition of the PRC.

References

  1. Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian WebCitation archive
  3. "Travels of President Richard M. Nixon". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  4. "Travels of President Jimmy Carter". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  5. "Travels of President Ronald Reagan". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  6. "Travels of President George H. W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  7. "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  8. "Travels of President George W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  9. "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  10. "The President's Trip to China, Burma and Australia". White House Office. November 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  11. Brands, H. W. (2012). The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses S. Grant in War and Peace. Doubleday. pp.  591–592. ISBN   978-0385532419.
  12. Black, Conrad (2007). Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full . New York: Public Affairs Books. p.  1005. ISBN   978-1-58648-519-1.
  13. Ambrose, Stephen E. (1991). Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1973–1990. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp.  524–525. ISBN   978-0-671-69188-2.
  14. "Visit to China". cartercenter.org. Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Center. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  15. "President Carter's Japan and China Trip Report". cartercenter.org. Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Center. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  16. "Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to China, Dec. 2-8, 2007". cartercenter.org. Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Center. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  17. "China Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: Jan. 10-16, 2009". cartercenter.org. Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Center. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  18. Blakemore, Erin (September 1, 2018). "Bill Clinton Once Struck a Nuclear Deal With North Korea". history.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  19. McCurry, Justin (August 27, 2010). "North Korea releases US prisoner after talks with Jimmy Carter". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  20. "The story behind Clinton's trip to North Korea". CNN. August 5, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2019.