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Marco Rubio wants to bolster ties with Asia to counter China’s sway, but President Trump’s tariff threats have nations asking why they should align with Washington.
By Edward Wong and David Pierson
Edward Wong reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during Marco Rubio’s first trip to Asia as U.S. secretary of state. David Pierson reported from Hong Kong.
July 11, 2025, 12:52 a.m. ET
In the capital of Malaysia this week, the United States and China are engaged in a contest for influence and loyalty in Asia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been pressing regional officials gathered at a conference in Kuala Lumpur to align with Washington’s efforts to restrict trade with China. At the same gathering, China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, has been urging those officials to resist U.S. pressure and embrace Beijing as the more reliable partner.
The trade dispute is likely to be high on the agenda at a meeting planned between Mr. Rubio and Mr. Wang on Friday on the sidelines of the conference. The countries have clashed over America’s restrictions on tech and other exports to China; U.S. support for Taiwan; and China’s chokehold on critical minerals and its control over some supply chains.
Mr. Rubio met with officials from Japan and Korea on Friday as he worked to shore up Washington’s influence with its allies and partners. He will meet with the top diplomats from Southeast Asia later in the day, at talks expected to be attended also by Mr. Wang and Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia.
But Mr. Rubio’s efforts have been overshadowed by new tariff threats that President Trump made to 14 foreign leaders, which have infuriated the target governments, including Malaysia, the host of the meeting. Diplomats from seven other nations targeted by the move are also at the meeting. The tariff threats are aimed even at treaty allies, including Japan and South Korea, raising further doubts about U.S. commitment to Asia.
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