Rubio is heading to a forum in Manila, where he plans to meet with China's foreign minister
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Manila this weekend to participate in meetings with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. During the visit, he is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to prepare for a possible September summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to the U.S. State Department, Rubio will participate in the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, a meeting of foreign ministers as part of the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. He will also hold a series of bilateral talks with senior officials from countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Officials in Washington note that the trip is aimed at strengthening the U.S. partnership with the Philippines and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also expected in Manila next week, along with representatives from Japan, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
There has been no official confirmation of a meeting between Rubio and Wang Yi yet, but analysts consider it likely. According to their assessments, the main topic of the talks will be preparations for a possible meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping, which the U.S. president announced for late September.
During the forums, participants also plan to discuss the situation in the South China Sea and the crisis in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup.
This was reported by Reuters.
As a reminder, China has rejected Trump’s claims of interference in the U.S. presidential election.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to shorten the validity period of U.S. visas for foreign journalists, particularly for representatives of Chinese media. Officials in Washington stated that this would allow for stricter monitoring of compliance with residency requirements, while Beijing has already threatened retaliatory measures.
