Trade in the time of Trump. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is hoping to strengthen New Zealand's trading relationships in the Indo-Pacific as he embarks on a week-long trip to the region, diversifying the country's economic opportunities in an environment of global instability. Luxon's trip comes as US President Donald Trump makes his first visit to the region since returning to the White House, and the continuing fallout of his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. It also comes on the eve of a scheduled meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, the first since Trump became president for a second time. An international relations expert says the "softly, softly" approach to the new Trump administration has not paid off for New Zealand and other countries, and the government will need to take on board that it cannot rely on the United States in the same way it has in the past. Luxon leaves for Malaysia on Sunday morning to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS), where he will co-host a leaders' summit with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and celebrate 50 years of dialogue between NZ and ASEAN. As the ABC has suggested, "ASEAN represents the countries that have been among the hardest hit by the Trump tariffs: the relative minnows who it has been easier to punish for their economic links with China than going full tilt at China itself." Luxon will then continue to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting. All of New Zealand's top five trading partners are APEC members: China, Australia, the United States, Japan and South Korea. Together, ASEAN and APEC represent around 60 percent of the global economy and more than 70 percent of New Zealand's international trade. The security and economic summits take place amidst a backdrop of geopolitical tensions that are creating uncertainty when it comes to traditional trading and defence partnerships. University of Otago politics professor Robert Patman told RNZ Trump's protectionism was causing "a fair amount of problems" for countries, including New Zealand. The United States imposed a 15 percent tariff on New Zealand exports in August, which remained in place.