‘High probability’ Trump and Xi will meet this year, Rubio says

There is a “high probability” that US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.

“The odds are high,” Rubio told journalists gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday. “I think both sides want to see it happen.”

Rubio said he was unable to provide a date for any potential meeting but said there was a “strong desire on both sides to do it.” He added that it’s necessary to build the “right atmosphere” ahead of any such meeting in order to enable concrete deliverables.

The US top diplomat met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday for the first in-person meeting between the two foreign ministers, which comes as the US and China navigate trade frictions – and compete for influence in Asia.

The roughly hour-long meeting was “very constructive” and “positive,” Rubio said on Friday evening local time.