China and the US meet with Southeast Asian countries

The heads of diplomacy of China and the United States, Wang Yi and Marco Rubio, meet this Thursday in Kuala Lumpur with their Southeast Asian counterparts, in the midst of the trade war initiated by Washington.

The meeting with the Chinese minister opened Thursday's meeting between the heads of diplomacy of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their main partners, which runs until Friday.

China, the main trading partner of Southeast Asian countries , is seeking to maintain its influence in this export region, threatened by the tariffs announced on Monday by US President Donald Trump, which for some Southeast Asian countries are higher than those set in April.

In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping toured several countries in the region, including Malaysia—which this year holds the rotating ASEAN presidency—to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia, during which he signed dozens of trade agreements .

Rubio, who is making his first trip to Asia in Malaysia since taking office in January, will hold a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers in the afternoon, as well as with representatives from countries such as Japan, South Korea, Canada and India.

The US diplomat is expected to meet on the sidelines of the meeting with his Russian counterpart , Sergey Lavrov, Washington announced, as the United States prepares to send more weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against increased Russian airstrikes.

The talks, the second this year, come at a time when the United States has criticized the lack of progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Rubio will also hold a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which the Asian leader said he will propose negotiations with Washington to reduce the 25% tariffs that Trump announced he will apply to Kuala Lumpur starting August 1 (up from 24% set in April).

Statements on US tariffs are expected to emerge during the summit, with most economies in the region, including Indonesia and Thailand, still in negotiations with the US until the new August 1 deadline.

The United States announced tariffs of 32% for Indonesia and 36% for Thailand, the same rate applied to Cambodia. Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Laos received 40%.

On Wednesday, Washington announced tariff increases of 20% for the Philippines (up from the previously announced 17%) and 25% for Brunei (up from the previous 24%).

So far, Vietnam is the only country in the region that has managed to reach an agreement with Washington to reduce tariffs from the 46% announced in April to 20%.

Other important topics expected at the meeting are the worsening conflict in Myanmar following the 2021 coup and tensions in the South China Sea, where Beijing disputes territories with several ASEAN countries.

On Friday, it will be the turn of the multilateral session, with the East Asia Forum and the ASEAN Regional Forum, where Rubio, Wang, Lavrov and the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, will be present.