US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur, Reuters reports. It will be their first face-to-face meeting at a time of simmering trade tensions between the two major powers.
Rubio is on his first visit to Asia since taking office. He will participate in the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN regional forum along with colleagues from Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Australia, India, the European Union and Southeast Asian countries.
His meeting with Wang Yi will take place against a backdrop of escalating global tensions over US President Donald Trump's tariff offensive. China has warned the United States not to reimpose high tariffs on its goods next month. Beijing has also threatened to retaliate against countries that make deals with the United States to exclude China from supply chains.
Rubio’s visit to Asia is part of an effort to renew the U.S. focus on the Indo-Pacific region and look beyond the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration’s attention. Earlier this week, the U.S. imposed tariffs on a number of Asian countries, including 25% on Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, 32% on Indonesia, 36% on Thailand and Cambodia, and 40% on Myanmar and Laos.
China, initially hit with tariffs exceeding 100%, has until Aug. 12 to reach an agreement with the White House to prevent Trump from reinstating additional import restrictions imposed during the April and May tariff exchanges. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has sharply criticized the United States, saying that the US tariffs are "typical unilateral bullying behavior" that no country should support or agree to. He said the new tariffs undermine the free trade system and disrupt the stability of the global production and supply chain.
We believe that Southeast Asian countries have the ability to deal with complex situations, adhere to principled positions and protect their own interests, Wang Yi said.
Earlier this week, Marco Rubio said he would likely raise US concerns with Wang Yi about China's support for Russia in its war in Ukraine. "The Chinese are clearly supporting Russia's efforts, and I think they are generally willing to help them in any way they can without getting caught", he said.
Rubio met with Japan's foreign minister and South Korea's first vice foreign minister in Malaysia. They discussed regional security and strengthening their "indispensable trilateral partnership", including the security and resilience of critical technologies and supply chains, energy, reliable digital infrastructure, and shipbuilding.