Wang Yi, Marco Rubio meet in Malaysia

RTHK

4 days ago

Wang Yi, Marco Rubio meet in Malaysia
Marco Rubio meets Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters
Foreign Minister Wang Yi met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, in their first face-to-face talks since the American official took up his position earlier this year.
The bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur kicked off after 3pm Hong Kong time.
Posing for photos ahead of the meeting, both Wang and Rubio did not speak to journalists who were briefly present at the venue.
Rubio later described the talks as positive" and expressed the hope for a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
While this was the pair's first face-to-face meeting, the top diplomats had spoken by telephone before.
During that phone conversation, Wang had expressed the hope that his American counterpart would make the right decisions and play a constructive role for global peace and stability.
The high-level, in-person exchange came at a time of trade tensions sparked by Trump's tariff roll-out.
Ahead of the talks, Wang called Washington's move to impose high tariffs on Asean countries "a typical act of bullying and unilateralism that no country would support".
He said Beijing is willing to strengthen cooperation with the Southeast Asian bloc to uphold the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and promote inclusive economic globalisation.
Meanwhile, Wang said China is willing to play a constructive role and maintain an "objective and impartial stance" in promoting peaceful relations between Thailand and Cambodia over their recent border tensions.
He told Thailand's foreign minister that both Southeast Asian countries are Beijing's good neighbours and friends, saying he hopes the two sides would handle the matter through dialogue and consultation to de-escalate tensions and restore stability as soon as possible.
In a separate meeting with his Cambodian counterpart, Wang said he understood that both sides were willing to calm the situation down, despite having different positions.