U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday and said the two countries would work to cut Washington's trade deficit with Tokyo amid escalating trade tensions threatening to rupture the global economy.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington Friday. The meeting between Trump and one of the United States' strongest allies in the Indo-Pacific region is expected to focus around economic and security issues along the theme of "a free and open Ind-Pacific" against tightening military control by China.

President Donald Trump said Friday he wants to slash the U.S. trade deficit with Japan as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House for their first face-to-face meeting.