U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio showed a friendly demeanor during a meeting with China’s top diplomat at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, according to reports. The move appears aimed at easing strains in U.S.-China relations and paving the way for high-level exchanges in the coming months.
Rubio avoided mentioning President Trump’s recent allegations about Beijing’s interference in the 2020 U.S. election.
China’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed those claims as baseless and malicious, pointing out that they have long been debunked as nonsense.
Rubio, once one of Washington’s most hawkish voices on China, now finds himself balancing his long-standing stance of curbing China’s rise with Trump’s push for deeper ties and a global sphere-of-influence arrangement with Beijing.
“Look, these are the two most powerful countries in the world. Frankly, if there’s no relationship between the U.S. and China, that would be reckless and irresponsible,” Rubio said.
On Iran, Rubio noted that China has been cooperative in certain areas.
“In fact, they have publicly opposed any tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and any restrictions on freedom of navigation there,” he added.
Trump has also recently thanked China and Russia for their roles on Iran. Niu Song, a researcher at Shanghai International Studies University’s Middle East Studies Institute, noted that Trump’s remarks partly reflect an objective reality—China has always pushed for talks and opposed escalation—but also serve as a warning to external powers.
The U.S. has often used ASEAN meetings to raise concerns from smaller Asian nations about Beijing, frequently accusing China of bullying neighbors through economic and military coercion.
When asked whether he raised China’s maritime activities, Rubio replied, “That comes up in every conversation we have.” But he stressed that dialogue is crucial to avoid “major global consequences.”
Rubio’s tone on Wednesday was far milder than in an op-ed published earlier this week in a major Philippine newspaper, which was pushed by the U.S. State Department. In that piece, he subtly criticized Beijing for threatening freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
China’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that rising tensions in the South China Sea are closely tied to U.S. interference. If Washington truly wants peace and stability in the region, it should stop fueling conflicts and confrontation, the ministry said.