Rubio says he discussed Xi’s planned U.S. visit in meeting with Wang Yi

MANILA – U.S. Secretary of ⁠State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he talked a lot during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about a planned trip to the United States by Chinese leader Xi ​Jinping. Meeting with Wang in Manila on the sidelines ‌of ‌a regional gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Rubio told reporters that both sides had differences, but their job was to manage them, adding ⁠there were areas of potential cooperation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said ⁠a summit with Xi could take place at the end of September. Their meeting comes amid ​a fragile truce between ⁠the world’s biggest economies that could be complicated by President Donald Trump’s accusations of ⁠Chinese meddling in ​U.S. elections, which Beijing has called “pure fabrication.”

Rubio ​said the allegations of election interference were ​not discussed ‌with Wang. Tense U.S.-China relations have been more stable under a temporary trade truce reached by Trump and Xi in October. The two leaders met in May ‌in Beijing. China has not confirmed Xi’s visit to Washington.

Trade issues with China were discussed, Rubio said, as well as the bilateral Board of Trade, adding that it ​was ​important both countries can talk irrespective of differences.

The ​ASEAN meeting comes ⁠at a time of global instability, with the war in the Middle East disrupting global trade and creating economic strains across Asia.

Rubio said nothing China had ​done had changed the trajectory of the conflict, though he said Beijing had in some cases been cooperative on Iran.