SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong put trade front and center while visiting the White House on Monday, following a strategy illustrated by his Malaysian and Thai counterparts to appease the U.S. amid Chinese expansionism in Southeast Asia.
Singapore Airlines signed a $13.8 billion contract on the sidelines of the summit to purchase aircraft from American manufacturer Boeing. Later, when Lee joked that Singapore Airlines "is not a bad airline," Trump responded, "That's because they buy Boeing, right?"
