Rubio has 'positive' meeting with Chinese foreign minister

KUALA LUMPUR

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 11 he had a "positive" meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of ASEAN talks in Malaysia.

Rubio and Wang's first face-to-face meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office came as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes ranging from trade to Taiwan and both powers vie for greater influence in the region.

"I thought it was very constructive and positive meeting," Rubio told reporters after the hour-long talks, but stressed "it was not a negotiation."

"I think we left it feeling as there's some areas we're gonna be able to work together on."

Rubio also expressed confidence that a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would happen.

"There's a strong desire on both sides to do it," Rubio said, adding no date had been set.

Wang and Rubio, a longtime China hawk, are in Kuala Lumpur for a gathering of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Japan, South Korea and Australia and other nations are also attending.

Trump sees China as the biggest threat to the United States in multiple fields, not least technology and trade, and like previous U.S. presidents has watched the country greatly expand its influence globally while turning increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific, notably toward its small neighbors over the South China Sea and Taiwan.

U.S. officials said ahead of Rubio's first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was "prioritizing" its commitment to East and Southeast Asia.