Secretary of State Marco Rubio met counterparts in Southeast Asia during his first visit to the region since taking office.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping his up his second and final day at a Southeast Asian security conference with a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart as tensions grow over issues from trade to security and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 11), the State Department said, in what will be the first in-person meeting of the two counterparts.

The U.S. secretary of state met with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of a gathering of Southeast Asian nations, where he also defended new U.S. tariff threats.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers' meet in Malaysia, the State Department said. The meeting comes as Washington and Beijing remain locked in disputes on issues ranging from trade and fentanyl to Taiwan and cutting-edge technology.

Before the US diplomat met with Southeast Asian foreign ministers this week, President Trump said Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar faced tariff rates betw