Rubio at ASEAN says good chance of Trump-Xi talks soon

Perth Now

a day ago

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday he had "positive and constructive" talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia.
The top US diplomat was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, seeking to stress the US commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, where many countries were reeling from a raft of steep tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump this week.
Rubio had his first in-person talks with China's foreign minister, which came after China warned the US against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and threatened retaliation against countries that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply chains.
Wang sharply criticised the United States during talks with Asian counterparts in Malaysia, calling the US tariffs "typical unilateral bullying behaviour".
But both sides described their bilateral meeting as positive and constructive on Friday.
And Rubio said the odds of Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping were high.
"We're two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on. I think there's some areas of potential co-operation and I thought it was a very constructive, positive meeting, and a lot of work to do," he told reporters.
Rubio emphasised that his sit-down with Wang was not a negotiation but rather about establishing a constructive baseline to continue talks.
Rubio noted Trump had been invited to visit China, and added: "It's a visit he wants to undertake, and so we'll work on finding the right date for that, but I'm sure it'll happen because the president - both presidents - want it to happen."
"We have to build the right atmosphere and build ... deliverables, so that a visit isn't just a visit but it actually has some takeaways from it that are concrete," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry said Wang had emphasised that both countries should translate consensus reached by their leaders into policies and actions.
"Both sides agreed that the meeting was positive, pragmatic and constructive," it said.