Is Seoul ready for Trump’s China question?

President Lee Jae-myung will hold his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Although his administration has cleared an early hurdle in tariff talks, the fact that Trump is the counterpart makes the stakes high. With the alliance at a turning point, the risks surrounding their first meeting are considerable.

Summits are typically diplomatic events that rarely fail. Working-level officials coordinate schedules and agendas in detail to minimize risks. A meeting with Trump, however, is different, with an unusually high number of unpredictable variables.

The Atlantic recently interviewed diplomats from six countries that held summits with Trump after the launch of his second administration, reporting their advice for a successful meeting. The accounts serve as a kind of manual for other nations preparing to meet him.

The first key to success, they said, is flattery and showmanship. Lavish praise, such as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s much-discussed comparison of Trump to a “daddy,” is considered basic. Successful meetings have also featured personal touches, like the Finnish president, once a national golf champion, teaming up with Trump to win a tournament; France inviting him to a large-scale military parade; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize after brokering a cease-fire in the Israel-Iran war.

The second is meticulous preparation for the unexpected. If the first tip is for success, this one is to avoid failure. Summits in the Oval Office have often unfolded like hearings, with Trump joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other senior MAGA-aligned officials pressing their counterparts on sensitive issues. Adding to the difficulty, pro-Trump social media influencers with press access have at times posed surprise questions during the meetings.

Trump had a similar reputation in his first term. In June 2017, after his first summit with then-President Moon Jae-in, Trump reportedly escorted Moon to the Treaty Room on the White House’s third floor immediately after a photo session and posed more than 10 off-the-record questions. He is said to have pressed Moon on issues such as “How do you feel about U.S. forces stationed in Korea for free?” “What do you think of Kim Jong Un?” and “Why is the THAAD deployment not proceeding as planned?” grilling him on sensitive alliance matters.

Lee will also need to be fully prepared for Trump’s surprise questions. The most challenging are likely to concern China. During the presidential campaign, Lee told Time magazine that when asked whether South Korea would join in defending Taiwan if China invaded, he replied, “I will think about that answer when aliens try to invade Earth.” Such strategic ambiguity may not work on Trump, who favors binary questions. His administration has already declared that the policy of relying on the United States for security and China for the economy is over.

The outcome of the U.S.-Korea summit could shape subsequent tariff negotiations. Trump has said that talks broke down with some countries because they did not align closely enough with the United States on national security. If he concludes that Seoul holds a different view on China, the entire alliance could face direct negative consequences. Whether Lee can fasten the “first button” of his pragmatic diplomacy, improving ties with neighboring countries through the U.S.-Korea alliance, will depend on this meeting.