The Chinese and U.S. Foreign Ministers held a meeting on July 11 in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, characterized as “positive, pragmatic and constructive”. China and the United States agreed to strengthen communication and dialogue at all levels and in various fields, including through diplomatic channels. It was the first in-person meeting between the two top diplomats since U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assumed his current post in January. Both were in Kuala Lumpur for a series of meetings on East Asia cooperation. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized that both sides should translate the important consensus reached by the two heads of state into concrete policies and actions. Rubio commented on the meeting: “I think we left it feeling as though there are some areas we’re gonna be able to work together on”.
When meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, Minister Wang said Washington’s abuse of tariffs undermines the international economic and trade order and hampers global economic growth. He added that the U.S. even imposes high tariffs on small and poor countries. In May, China and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day pause on additional tariffs imposed on each other following their high-level trade talks in Geneva. The pause is set to expire next month, the China Daily reports.
The South China Morning Post adds that Rubio told reporters “the odds are high” that Presidents Trump and Xi might meet this year, but the two sides had to “build the right atmosphere and the right deliverables”. “We’re going to work hard between now and whatever date that is to make sure that when that visit does happen, it’s as productive as possible,” Rubio said, adding that his key message to Wang was that there was an opportunity for the two rival powers to achieve some strategic stability and identify areas where they could cooperate and build better communication and trust.
