Rubio meets China's Wang Yi in Malaysia as trade tensions deepen
Both parties are in Kuala Lumpur to push their countries' agendas in Asia at a time of simmering tension over a US trade tariffs offensive.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second to left) meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (second to right) during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 11, 2025. (Photo: Pool via AFP)
KUALA LUMPUR: United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (Jul 11), as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia at a time of simmering tension over a US trade tariffs offensive.
Washington's top diplomat arrived in Malaysia on Thursday in his first trip to Asia since taking office, attending the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum alongside counterparts from Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Australia, India, the European Union and Southeast Asian states.
His meeting with Wang comes amid escalating friction globally over US President Donald Trump's tariffs, with China this week warning the US against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month.
Beijing has also threatened to retaliate against nations that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply chains.
Rubio's visit is part of an effort to renew US focus on the Indo-Pacific region and look beyond conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration's attention.
But that has been overshadowed by this week's announcement of steep US tariffs on many Asian countries and US allies that include 25 per cent on Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, 32 per cent for Indonesia, 36 per cent for Thailand and Cambodia and 40 per cent on Myanmar and Laos.
Analysts said Rubio would be looking to press the case that the US remains a better partner than China, Washington's main strategic rival, during the visit. The State Department said Rubio met counterparts of Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia on Friday.
A day earlier, he told Southeast Asian foreign ministers the Indo-Pacific remained a focal point of US foreign policy.
China, initially singled out with tariffs exceeding 100 per cent, has until Aug 12 to reach a deal with the White House to keep Trump from reinstating additional import curbs imposed during tit-for-tat tariff exchanges in April and May.
"BULLYING BEHAVIOUR"
China's Wang has been fierce in his criticism of the US in Kuala Lumpur and told Malaysia's foreign minister the US tariffs were "typical unilateral bullying behavior" that no country should support or agree with, according to remarks released by Beijing on Friday.
He told Thailand's foreign minister the tariffs had been abused and "undermined the free trade system, and interfered with the stability of the global production and supply chain".
During a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart, he said the US levies were an attempt to deprive Southeast Asian countries of their legitimate right to development.
"We believe that Southeast Asian countries have the ability to cope with complex situations, adhere to principled positions, and safeguard their own interests," Wang said, according to China's foreign ministry.
The foreign secretary of US ally the Philippines told Reuters on Friday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr would meet Trump in Washington this month, and discussions would include the increase in the US tariff on its former colony.
Rubio and Wang made no public remarks at the start of their talks on Friday, which lasted about an hour and were their first in-person since Rubio took office in January.
Rubio said a day earlier he would raise US concerns over China's support for Russia against Ukraine, adding Beijing had "been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught".
Rubio also met Japan's foreign minister and South Korea's first vice foreign minister in Malaysia on Friday to discuss regional security and a strengthening of their "indispensable trilateral partnership" in areas such as critical technologies and supply chains, a US State Department said in a statement.
In a joint communique on Friday, ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concern over rising global trade tensions and uncertainties.
Without mentioning the US, they said unilateral tariffs were "counterproductive and risk exacerbating global economic fragmentation", echoing a previous statement by ASEAN leaders in May.
They also emphasised a need to diversify trade with new and emerging partners and called for a transparent and fair multilateral trading system.
"We reaffirmed our commitment to work constructively with all partners to this end," they said.
