Trump, who reached a trade agreement with Beijing in 2019 that later expired, has not mentioned any potential deal with China during his campaign for the 2024 nomination.
Two Japanese foreign ministry officials said they fear that Trump may be prepared to weaken U.S. support for nearby Taiwan in pursuit of a deal with China.
A Trump aide told Reuters that no recent meetings have taken place between Trump and Japanese officials.
"If he is going to cut a deal with China, Japan needs to try and get ahead of the curve and understand its potential role to support its interests in both the U.S. and in China," said Machida.
Robert O'Brien, Trump's former national security adviser, also has connections with Japanese officials, two of the sources said.
Persons:
John Geddie, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, America's, Donald Trump, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden's, Trump, Xi, Kim Jong Un, they're, Ado Machida, Machida, Shinzo Abe, Aso, Japan's, Shigeo Yamada, Mike Pence, Jim Mattis, Mike Pompeo, Michael Green, Bill Hagerty, Yamada, Hagerty, Robert O'Brien, Trump's, O'Brien, Shigeru Kitamura, Biden, Tsuneo Watanabe, John Bolton, Watanabe, Yukiko Toyoda, Kaori Kaneko, Sakura Murakami, David Brunnstrom, Tim Reid, Ben Blanchard, Laurie Chen, Liz Lee, David Crawshaw
Organizations:
Trump, Republican, Group, North, Reuters, Fox News, U.S, Steel, Japan's Nippon Steel, U.S ., Liberal Democratic Party, . Studies, University of Sydney, Japan's U.S, Taiwan, Peace Foundation
Locations:
TOKYO, Japan, Asia, China, Beijing, Tokyo, Iowa, New Hampshire, U.S, Taiwan, Washington, Trump, Taipei