Rubio and Wang Yi discuss preparations for Xi Jinping's expected September visit to Washington

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met for about 90 minutes in Manila on July 22, 2026, and discussed potential areas of cooperation ahead of Xi Jinping’s expected September visit to Washington, which had not yet been officially confirmed. Rubio said the two countries were moving toward establishing bilateral trade and investment boards. He also said Washington viewed China’s use of coast guard vessels around Taiwan to assert its territorial claims as contrary to strategic stability, described the July 20 China-Philippines maritime altercation as an escalation that benefited no one, and reaffirmed U.S. treaty obligations to the Philippines.

Rubio-Wang Yi Manila meeting

• ▪Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as pragmatic, positive, and constructive, urging both sides to pursue strategic stability and peaceful coexistence.
• ▪U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met for 90 minutes on July 22, 2026, in Manila on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting.

Xi Jinping September visit

• ▪Chinese President Xi Jinping was expected to visit Washington in September 2026, although the visit had not yet been officially confirmed. Trump and Xi had previously met in Beijing in May.
• ▪Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu scheduled a meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Washington on July 22, 2026, to help arrange the upcoming September summit.

US-China cooperation areas

• ▪Rubio said the United States and China were moving toward establishing bilateral investment and trade boards as potential deliverables ahead of Xi Jinping's expected September visit.
• ▪U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that he did not discuss with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi the allegations by President Donald Trump that China meddled in past U.S. elections.

Taiwan coast guard tensions

• ▪Rubio said Washington viewed China's use of coast guard vessels around Taiwan to assert its territorial claims as contrary to the strategic stability the two sides were seeking.
• ▪Beijing increased economic pressure on Tokyo, including curbs on rare earth shipments, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a response by Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

South China Sea escalation

• ▪Philippine authorities accused China Coast Guard personnel of striking and injuring one Filipino service member with a wooden baton during the July 20 maritime encounter.
• ▪U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the July 20, 2026, altercation between the China Coast Guard and Philippine Navy personnel near the Second Thomas Shoal as a negative, escalatory incident that benefits no one.

US-Philippines defense treaty

• ▪U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed that the United States is obliged to defend the Philippines under a bilateral security treaty and fully intends to live up to those treaty obligations.
• ▪U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio published an opinion piece in Philippine media criticizing Beijing's conduct in the South China Sea and asserting Washington's commitment to regional defense and freedom of navigation.