KUALA LUMPUR: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday he had “positive and constructive” talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia at a time of tension over Washington’s tariff offensive.

The top US diplomat was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, seeking to stress the United States commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and Asean Regional Forum, where many countries were reeling from a raft of steep US tariffs announced by President Donald Trump this week.

Rubio had his first in-person talks with the Chinese foreign minister, coming as Beijing has warned the United States against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and threatened retaliation against nations that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply chains.

Wang has sharply criticised Washington during talks with Asian counterparts in Malaysia, calling the US tariffs “typical unilateral bullying behaviour”.

US efforts to refocus attention on Indo-Pacific have been overshadowed by imposition of steep tariffs on most countries of the region

But both sides described Friday’s bilateral meeting as positive and constructive. And Rubio said the odds of Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping were high.

“We’re two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on. I think there’s some areas of potential cooperation and I thought it was a very constructive, positive meeting, and a lot of work to do,” he told reporters.

Rubio emphasised that his sitdown with Wang was not a negotiation, but rather about establishing a constructive baseline to continue talks.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2025