US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for talks on Wednesday during a regional gathering led by the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, where top diplomats voiced concern about renewed Middle East hostilities and tension in the South China Sea.
The two are expected to discuss a possible US summit between their leaders flagged for the end of September by President Donald Trump, with Rubio saying on Sunday it was still anticipated.
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Rubio and Wang did not speak to media as they entered the room. The meeting comes amid a fragile truce between the world’s biggest economies that could be complicated by President Donald Trump’s accusations of Chinese meddling in US elections, which Beijing has denied.
The broader ASEAN meeting in Manila comes amid a flare-up in the conflict between the United States and Iran, while tension simmers between Beijing and close US ally the Philippines over an incident in the South China Sea that led each to summon the other’s ambassador.
