Rubio meets Wang Yi in a first in-person meeting, his second with rival counterparts in 24 hours

Amid the brewing tensions between China and the United States , American Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping up his final day at a Southeast Asian security conference with a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

The meeting is believed to be of high stakes since there have been growing tensions between Washington, DC and Beijing over trade, security and China’s support to Russia in the war against Ukraine.

The state department notified that the meeting between the two leaders took place on the final day of the Asean Summit. This was the first time Rubio and Wang Yi conducted face-to-face talks. Interestingly, the meeting also came less than 24 hours after Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur with another rival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Rubio & Wang vie for Asia

On his first visit to Asia, Rubio pitched the United States as a better partner compared to China. Such efforts were, however, complicated by US tariffs that have hit Asian countries hard.

China has sought to capitalise on the angst against US tariffs.

Ahead of their meeting, Wang said on Thursday that the US tariff drive “undermines the free trade system”.

“The United States’ imposition of high tariffs on Cambodia and Southeast Asian countries is an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate rights to development,” Wang further said.

Reuters reported analysts as saying that Rubio would be looking to press the case that the United States remains a better partner than China in the region during the visit.

Rubio and Wang are also likely to have discussed the Donald Trump administration’s concerns over China’s expansionary behaviour in the South China Sea and China’s growing military pressure on Taiwan, as per AFP.

Rubio navigated tough waters in the Asean Summit

During his meeting with Lavrov, Rubio discussed potential new avenues to bring Ukraine peace talks back on track. It is pertinent to note that Rubio’s two meetings came against a backdrop of global and regional unease over US policies, especially President Donald Trump’s decision to impose high tariffs on friends and foes alike .

At the summit, Rubio heard complaints about the tariffs from his Southeast Asian counterparts. However, while speaking to reporters, he mentioned that the countries were more focused on security issues, especially China’s growing domination in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Of course, it’s [Tariffs] raised. It’s an issue,” he said. “But I wouldn’t say it solely defines our relationship with many of these countries. There are a lot of other issues that we work together on, and I think there was great enthusiasm that we were here and that we’re a part of this.”

US vs China: The unspoken tussle

Trump sees China as the biggest threat to the United States in multiple fields, not least technology and trade, and like previous US presidents watched as China has also been expanding its influence globally.

Earlier, Trump has warned of massive tariffs that he could impose on Chinese exports to the United States, and preliminary discussions between the two sides have yet to produce significant progress. Before him, when former US President Joe Biden was in office, the US had also accused China of assisting Russia in rebuilding its military industrial sector to help it execute its war against Ukraine. Since assuming the office, Rubio has maintained that the Trump administration shares this view.

“I think the Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally they’ve been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught,” Rubio said Thursday, suggesting the topic would be discussed if he and Wang met.

Meanwhile, Wang also held talks with Lavrov, following which both the leaders issued a subtle warning to the United States over Southeast Asia. “Russia and China both support ASEAN’s central role in regional cooperation, are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and are wary of certain major powers creating divisions and instigating confrontation in the region,” they said, according to a statement released by Russia’s foreign ministry.