United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday in Malaysia on the sidelines of ASEAN talks, with renewed focus on securing the trade deal between the two nations.
The first meeting between the two top diplomats comes amid the prevailing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the tariff negotiations, which have gone into a deadlock after the last meeting.
The US is aware of the Chinese influence on the ASEAN nations and is also worried that the summit might adopt a diplomatically hostile stance under Chinese influence, which has been posing serious challenges to the US's superpower status in recent decades. Besides, other major economies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia are also attending the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Rubio, a long-time China Hawk, said on Thursday that "his country has no intention of abandoning" the Asia-Pacific region. However, the US tariff wars have overshadowed the Trump government's commitment to provide some relief with partners in the region.
The bloc is anxious and might be considering alternatives to the United States, perhaps China as a major trade partner, and for defence and security. US President Donald Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 per cent against more than 20 countries, many of them in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by 1 August.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim objected to the imposition of trade tariffs, which he termed "sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry."
Furthermore, Pentagon chief and defence secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in May of “preparing to use military power to alter the balance of power in the region. The claims that China rejected." In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to "contain China" and called on Washington to stop "playing with fire."
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