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United States presidential visits to East Asia

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.

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

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

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President Dates Countries Locations Key details
Dwight D. Eisenhower[1] December 2–5, 1952   South Korea Seoul Visit to Korean combat zone. (Visit made as President-elect.)
June 18–19, 1960   Taiwan Taipei State visit. Met with President Chiang Kai-shek
June 19–20, 1960   South Korea Seoul Met with Prime Minister Heo Jeong. Addressed the National Assembly.
Lyndon B. Johnson[2] October 31 – November 2, 1966   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, 1972   China Shanghai,
Beijing,
Hangzhou 		State Visit. Met with Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.
Gerald Ford November 19–22, 1974   Japan Tokyo,
Kyoto 		State visit. Met with Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
November 22–23, 1974   South Korea Seoul Met with President Park Chung-hee.
December 1–5, 1975   China Peking Official visit. Met with Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping
Jimmy Carter[4] June 25–29, 1979   Japan Tokyo,
Shimoda 		State visit; met with Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira. Attended the 5th G7 summit.
June 29 – July 1, 1979   South Korea Seoul State visit. Met with President Park Chung-hee and Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah.
July 9–10, 1980   Japan Tokyo Official 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, 1983   Japan Tokyo State visit; met with Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and addressed the National Diet.
November 12–14, 1983   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, 1984   China Beijing,
Xi'an,
Shanghai 		State visit. Met with President Li Xiannian and Premier Zhao Ziyang.
May 2–7, 1986   Japan Tokyo Attended the 12th G7 summit.
George H. W. Bush[6] February 23–25, 1989   Japan Tokyo Attended 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, 1989   China Beijing Met with President Yang Shangkun and Premier Li Peng. Also met with Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
February 27, 1989   South Korea Seoul Official visit. Addressed the National Assembly.
January 5–7, 1992   South Korea Seoul Met 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, 1992   Japan Kyoto,
Kashihara,
Tokyo 		Met with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and senior Japanese officials.
Bill Clinton[7] July 6–10, 1993   Japan Tokyo Attended the 19th G7 summit. Met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
July 10–11, 1993   South Korea Seoul Met 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, 1996   Japan Tokyo State visit. Issued joint statement on U.S.-Japanese security relations. Addressed the Diet and U.S. Navy personnel.
June 24 – July 3, 1998   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, 1998   Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi. Addressed American Chamber of Commerce.
November 20–22, 1998   South Korea Seoul,
Osan 		Met with President Kim Dae-jung. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
June 8, 2000   Japan Tokyo Attended 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, 2001   China Shanghai Attended the APEC Summit.
February 16–19, 2002   Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Addressed the Diet.
February 19–21, 2002   South Korea Seoul,
Dorasan,
Osan 		Met with President Kim Dae-jung. Visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
February 21–22, 2002   China Beijing Met with President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji.
October 17–18, 2003   Japan Tokyo Met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
November 15–16, 2005 Kyoto Met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
November 16–20, 2005   South Korea Pusan,
Gyeongju,
Osan 		Attended the APEC Summit. Met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
November 20–21, 2005   China Beijing Met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.
November 21, 2005   Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Met with President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and Prime Minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
July 6–9, 2008   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, 2008   South Korea Seoul Met with President Lee Myung-bak. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
August 7–11, 2008   China Beijing Attended the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. Met with President Hu Jintao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Barack Obama[9] November 13–14, 2009   Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
November 15–18, 2009   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, 2009   South Korea Seoul, Osan Met with President Lee Myung-bak. Visited with U.S. troops at Osan Air Base.
November 10–12, 2010   South Korea Seoul Attended the G-20 Summit. Met with President Lee Myung-bak.
November 12–14, 2010   Japan Yokohama, Kamakura Attended the APEC Summit. Met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
March 25–27, 2012   South Korea Seoul Attended the Nuclear Security Summit. Met with President Lee Myung-bak. Visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
April 23–25, 2014   Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
April 25–26, 2014   South Korea Seoul Met with President Park Geun-hye. Visited with U.S. troops at Yongsan Garrison.
November 10–12, 2014   China Beijing Attended the APEC Summit. Met with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang.[10]
May 25–27, 2016   Japan Shima,
Hiroshima 		Attended the 42nd G7 summit. Visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
September 3–6, 2016   China Hangzhou Attended the G-20 Summit.
Donald Trump November 5–7, 2017   Japan Tokyo Met with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
November 7–8, 2017   South Korea Seoul Met with President Moon Jae-in. Addressed the National Assembly.
November 8–10, 2017   China Beijing Met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
May 25–28, 2019   Japan Tokyo State visit. Met with Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
June 27–29, 2019   Japan Osaka Attended the G-20 Summit.
June 29–30, 2019   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, 2019   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, 2022   South Korea Seoul Met with President Yoon Suk-yeol. Visited with U.S. troops at Yongsan Garrison.
May 22–24, 2022   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, 2023   Japan Hiroshima Attended the 49th G7 summit.
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Visits by former presidents

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  • Ulysses S. Grant visited Hong Kong, Canton (now Guangzhou), Shanghai, and Peking where he spoke with the head of government, Prince Gong, and Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili, in 1878, during a world tour after leaving office. He subsequently visited Japan, before returning to the U.S.[11]
  • Richard Nixon visited China at the personal invitation of Mao Zedong in February 1976.[12] He visited again in mid–1979, and had a private meeting with Deng Xiaoping in Beijing.[13]
  • Jimmy Carter travelled to China, along with Carter Center personnel, for meetings with government and other officials on several occasions: July 1997,[14] September 2003,[15] December 2007,[16] and January 2009.[17] Additionally, Carter has visited North Korea twice: in June 1994 he meet with Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang to persuade Kim to negotiate with the Clinton Administration over its nuclear program;[18] and, in August 2010 he met with Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang to secure the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American teacher who was imprisoned in North Korea for entering that country without a travel visa. Carter returned to the United States with Gomes.[19]
  • Bill Clinton travelled to North Korea in August 2009 to secure the release of two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were imprisoned for illegally entering North Korea. He met with Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, and returned to the United States with the journalists.[20]

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  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.
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