US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with India and other Quad partners during an upcoming Southeast Asia visit, even as Washington and Beijing finalise preparations for an anticipated visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States in September. Rubio made the announcement to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on 20 July, framing the trip as a reaffirmation of American engagement with the Indo-Pacific.

ASEAN Summit as the Primary Stage

Rubio confirmed that the ASEAN Summit would be the centrepiece of his regional tour. 'This summit, ASEAN, is our primary way of engaging the region. We're committed to it,' he said. Beyond the multilateral forum, he indicated the trip would yield a series of bilateral and regional engagements across the diplomatic calendar.

Quad Meeting and Key Bilateral Talks

On the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering, Rubio confirmed a Quad meeting involving India, Australia, Japan, and the United States. 'We'll also have meetings with the Quad of India, Australia, Japan, and ourselves,' he said. He also confirmed a trilateral meeting with South Korea and Japan, and indicated he could meet Vietnam's foreign minister along with officials from several other nations. The trip will mark Rubio's first visit to the Philippines as Secretary of State, where he is expected to meet the Philippine President.

The China Question: Wang Yi and Xi's September Visit

Rubio left open the possibility of meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit. 'I'm not sure we've finalised that, but we'd be open to meeting with him, sure,' he said. When asked whether he would raise President Donald Trump's claims about Chinese interference in the 2020 US Presidential election, Rubio declined to preview any agenda. 'I would never tell you guys in a press conference what we would raise in meetings like that. Those are delicate matters,' he said.

On the anticipated Xi Jinping visit, Rubio expressed confidence that it remained on schedule. 'We anticipate that the trip is happening in September,' he said. 'They've continued to send over their teams to prepare for it, and I've heard nothing otherwise. I have no reason to believe that they won't be coming.'

US-China Relations: Dialogue Despite Disagreements

Rubio acknowledged that persistent tensions between Washington and Beijing would not disappear, but argued that major powers had an obligation to maintain communication. 'When you have two big, powerful countries like the United States and China, there are always going to be irritants, there are always going to be things we don't agree on,' he said. 'But I think it's incumbent on powerful and important countries like ours to continue to talk and have a relationship.' He added: 'We owe it to each other and for our people and to the world.'

What the Quad Represents

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising India, the United States, Japan, and Australia, was first convened in 2007 and revived in 2017. Its cooperation agenda spans maritime security, critical technologies, infrastructure, health, and disaster relief — areas increasingly central to Indo-Pacific strategic competition. Both India and the United States also participate in ASEAN-led forums such as the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, underscoring the overlapping diplomatic architecture within which Rubio's visit will operate.

With Xi's US visit looming in September, the outcome of Rubio's Southeast Asia engagements — particularly any sideline conversation with Wang Yi — could set the diplomatic tone for one of the year's most consequential summits.