Marco Rubio boards Air Force One (Image: Getty)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted at alarming differences between the U.S. and China, just minutes before President Trump was set to meet with President Xi Jinping in Asia.
Appearing on Fox News for an interview with Sean Hannity, Rubio discussed the highly anticipated meeting between President Trump and Xi, adding that diplomacy would be key as discussions kicked off on Wednesday night. Rubio said he expected the ongoing war in Iran to be among the most contested issues during the conversation, as China is considered a key ally of the Middle Eastern nation.
“When there’s conflict between what they want and what we want, that’s when the work of diplomacy and these personal relationships between the leaders is so critical. And there are times when some of those issues of conflict are irreconcilable. I think Iran is an example of that. Their clerical regime wants to have a nuclear weapon, and the world, led by President Trump, says that’s completely impossible, cannot happen, so unfortunately, there’s some areas like that where it comes up,” Rubio told Hannity.
“But there are areas where, if we can find areas of commonality, that’s very powerful and important. But we will have to manage these bilateral differences because they’re very significant. And when it’s two big, powerful countries, that falling apart could have tremendous significance on the global economy and on global peace,” he added.
Rubio continued by arguing that he believes China sees itself as “the world’s most powerful country,” a view he says the Trump administration disagrees with.
Marco Rubio arrives to China alongside members of the Trump administration (Image: Getty)
“My read has been what I think it’s been for a while, and that is, China has a plan, and they clearly view themselves — they believe they’ll be the world’s most powerful country. They’ll surpass the United States, and they have a plan to do it. And they’re executing on that plan, and I don’t blame them — if I were the Chinese government, I’d have the same plan. We, on the other hand, don’t view it that way, and we don’t want to see anything,” Rubio said.
“We don’t want to constrain China, but their rise cannot come at our expense. Their rise cannot come at our fall. So, there’s an area where we’re just going to have a difference of opinion. But my view of them, and of the government in China, is that they’re very confident, they have a plan, and they’re trying to execute on that plan, which is fine — I understand that from a nation-state perspective, but when that plan is in conflict with the national interests of the United States, we need to do what’s right for the United States,” he added.
Rubio’s comment on China’s relationship to Iran came after Trump seemed to downplay differences between the two governments on the conflict.
Trump takes part in a welcome ceremony in China (Image: Getty)
“We’re going to have a long talk about it. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you,” Trump said of his plans to discuss the conflict with Xi. Minutes later, he added, “We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”
Trump landed in China on Wednesday ahead of a multi-day state visit that could have implications for the rest of the world. Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by a group of 300 Chinese residents waving Chinese and American flags.
The president descended from Air Force One in China at around 7:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday. He was greeted by China’s vice president, Han Zheng, and the vice minister of foreign affairs, Ma Zhaoxu. Trump was also accompanied by frenemy Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jesen Huang, his son Eric Trump, and his wife, and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Lara Trump.
Interestingly, Rubio, who as a senator was a champion of human rights in China, is visiting the country for the first time despite having sanctions imposed on him. As a result, the Chinese government and official media began using a different characted for “lu” to represent his surname and work around the sanctions, which include an entry ban.
On Tuesday, Chinese authorities said they would not prohibit Rubio from entering the country despite the ongoing ban, signaling that China is open to a relatively friendly relationship.
“The sanctions target Mr. Rubio’s words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China,” Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson, said.
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