About 200 protesters gathered in a anti-trump protest co-organized by multiple groups, NGOs and civil society as the US president attended the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, hosted in Kuala Lumpur.

The trip, which will continue with visits to Japan and South Korea and a potential meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is an opportunity for Trump to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker at a time when his tariffs have scrambled the international economy and he's feuding with Democrats over a government shutdown back home.

Trump touched down in the Malaysian capital shortly before 0200 GMT, where he performed his trademark campaign trail dance with local performers and waved an American flag in one hand and a Malaysian flag in the other.

The president signed economic agreements with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, some of them aimed at increasing trade involving critical minerals.

The U.S. wants to rely less on China, which has limited exports of key components in technology manufacturing.