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"I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal," Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One. He said he plans to discuss fentanyl trafficking with Xi, as well as China's lack of soybean purchases from the United States. "I want our farmers to be taken care of. And he wants things also," Trump said.

The Republican president will use the trip to try to solidify a trade agreement with Malaysia and oversee the signing of an expanded ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, after he recently helped broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The two accords could be finalized while Trump attends the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, hosted in Kuala Lumpur. It's the first stop of a three-country swing across the continent, with visits to Japan and South Korea.

During a refueling stop in Qatar, Trump met briefly aboard his plane Saturday with the ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Trump said they talked about progress on security arrangements in Gaza. "It's working very well. It's all smooth. The U.S. doesn't have to get much involved," he said.

Trump was set to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning, as the U.S. government shutdown drags on.

Many federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck, there are flight disruptions as already squeezed air traffic controllers work without pay and states are confronting the possibility that federal food aid could dry up. As Republicans reject Democratic demands for health care funds, there's no sign of a break in the impasse.

"America is shut down and the President is skipping town," said U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Trump attended the annual ASEAN summit only once during his first term, but this year it comes as Malaysia and the U.S. work to address fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. The two countries have competing territorial claims, and violence periodically flares along their border; dozens of people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced during five days of combat in July. Trump threatened to withhold trade deals with the countries if they didn't stop fighting.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted to come because Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped resolve the fighting. “I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, ‘I think I owe you a trip,’" he said.

He and Anwar are scheduled to meet Sunday, followed by the joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump may also have a significant meeting Sunday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who wants to see the U.S. cut a 40% tariff on Brazilian imports. The U.S. administration justified the tariffs by citing Brazil's criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

Lula on Friday criticized the U.S. military strikes off the South American coast in the name of fighting drug trafficking. He said he planned to raise concerns with Trump at a meeting Sunday in Malaysia. The White House had not yet publicly confirmed the meeting.

One leader who will be absent from the summit is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Though he was close with Trump during his first term, the relationship grew tense recently. Trump caused irritation by boasting he settled a recent conflict between India and Pakistan, and he increased tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil.

From Malaysia, Trump heads to Japan and South Korea, where he's expected to make progress on talks for at least $900 billion in investments for U.S. factories and other projects that those countries committed to in return for easing Trump's planned tariff rates down to 15% from 25%.

The trip to Tokyo comes a week after Japan elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Trump is set to meet with Takaichi, who is a protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office. Trump spoke to Takaichi during his flight.

Trump is expected to be hosted by Japanese Emperor Naruhito, and meet with U.S. troops who are stationed in Japan, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In South Korea, Trump is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with China's Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

While the APEC summit is set to be held in Gyeongju, the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to take place in the city of Busan, the U.S. official said.

It will follow months of a trade war between China and the U.S. that rattled the global economy. Trump was infuriated after Beijing imposed new export controls on rare earth metals used in technology and threatened to hike retaliatory tariffs.

Trump told reporters Friday that he might ask Xi about freeing Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper founder, saying "it'll be on my list."