Rubio And Wang Discuss Trump And Xi’s Plans For APEC And G20
The US State Department said the officials discussed the two leaders’ trips and raised the possibility of talks involving Russia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke on 11th November about relations between their countries and contacts between their leaders. The US State Department’s account said the call came at China’s request and covered US President Donald Trump’s planned trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Florida for the Group of Twenty (G20) summit.
In its Chinese-language account, China’s Foreign Ministry described the call as constructive. It said Wang called on both countries to help each other host their summits and manage disagreements. Wang also pointed to Xi’s September visit to the US, when the presidents agreed to develop their approach to keeping bilateral relations stable.
Both sides had already made the summit plans public. The White House’s 25th September fact sheet and China’s 26th September account of the visit said both leaders intended to attend each other’s meetings. The US Trade Representative’s office said a 6th November call covered agricultural purchases and critical minerals. Our report on that trade call sets out the two governments’ accounts.
The White House said the September visit also put a Board of Trade into operation. The White House described agreement on recommendations for better tariff treatment covering $30 billion in goods in each direction. It put agricultural products and medical devices among the US exports covered by the recommendations.
Washington’s account also said Rubio and Wang agreed on the importance of discussions between leaders on peace and denuclearisation, including at a potential meeting with Russia. The Chinese ministry’s readout focused on bilateral relations and the two summits. In September the White House had said Trump advocated arms control talks between the US, Russia and China. The latest US statement describes the meeting as a possibility and gives no date or location. Our report on the Abu Dhabi discussions involving Ukraine covers a separate set of talks involving Russia.
The APEC Secretariat says its leaders’ week begins on 14th November and culminates in the leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen on 19th November. The regional agenda includes trade, supply chains and cooperation on artificial intelligence, including work on privacy and technical standards. The US Treasury lists the G20 leaders’ summit for 14th and 15th December at Trump National Doral in Miami.
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