Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting with a senior Chinese official in Malaysia Friday that a summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely later this year.
Mr. Rubio told reporters in Kuala Lumpur following the meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a senior Chinese Communist Party national security leader, that no date for a summit was discussed or has been set.
“But the reason why I tell you there’s a high probability they’re going to meet is that they both want to meet, and I don’t know President Xi [Jinping] but I know President Trump, and I can tell you that he’s committed to having that meeting happen,” Mr. Rubio said. “So the reason why I think there’s high odds of it happening is they both want it to happen. “
U.S. and Chinese officials are working to set a date for the summit and to make sure any meeting between the two leaders is “as productive as possible,” he said.
Mr. Rubio said the Chinese did not raise the issue of large Taiwanese military drills now being held.
“I think the Chinese position on Taiwan has been expressed,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a mystery to anyone in terms of where they stand on it. And our position has also been expressed pretty openly.”
The meeting was not a negotiation or a back and forth on issues, but more about setting a “constructive baseline” for future discussions, including on trade, Mr. Rubio said.
In an official statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Mr. Wang, a member of the CCP Politburo, told Mr. Rubio that China hopes the U.S. will view China with “an objective, rational and pragmatic attitude.”
He also said China wants U.S. policies toward China to be based on the goal of peaceful coexistence and to engage with China “in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner.”
The Chinese statement said the meeting was “positive, pragmatic and constructive,” while the State Department readout described the talks as “constructive and pragmatic.”
The two sides agreed to examine areas of potential cooperation and seek to manage differences, the State Department said.
Neither statement mentioned a possible summit between the two nations’ leaders.
Mr. Rubio told reporters it was his first meeting with Mr. Wang.
“Obviously… look, we’re two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on,” he said. “I think there are some areas of potential cooperation. I thought it was a very constructive, positive meeting, and a lot of work to do.”
Mr. Rubio said the U.S. remains a Pacific nation that includes Americans in Hawaii and large foreign investment in Southeast Asia.
“We’re not abandoning any of that nor are we abandoning these strong bilateral ties that we have with many of these countries, some of which go back decades and decades,” he said.
Mr. Rubio said Mr. Trump has a very good relationship with Mr. Xi based on their interaction during the first Trump administration and that his relationship with Mr. Wang should reflect that.
“And obviously there are some issues we’re going to have to work through, and that’s to be expected with countries of our size and scope and influence in the world – two global powers such as the United States and China,” he said.
No details were provided by either Mr. Rubio or the Chinese on the areas of differences.
The meeting comes amid tensions over trade issues and the U.S. imposition of tariffs on China.
China also is demanding that the United States clarify its position on Taiwan’s status that has remained ambiguous diplomatically since the late 1970s.
China claims Taiwan as its territory. The United States has not recognized Chinese sovereignty over the island democracy and is insisting that a solution be worked out without resorting to force.
The U.S. has opposed China’s covert support for Russia in its war against Ukraine in addition to Beijing’s lack of control over the sale of chemical precursors used by Mexican drug cartels to make deadly fentanyl.
Mr. Xi has ordered his military, the People’s Liberation Army, to be ready to use military force to annex Taiwan by 2027.
Mr. Trump has said China will not invade Taiwan on his watch.
Mr. Rubio said for a summit to take place “we have to build the right atmosphere and the right deliverables so that a visit isn’t just a visit, but it actually has some takeaways from it that are concrete.”
