US-Chinese top diplomats face off in Munich ahead of Trump's Beijing visit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 13, as Washington and Beijing prepare for a potential visit by President Donald Trump to China in April, Reuters reports.

The encounter marked at least the second in-person meeting between the top US diplomat and Wang. Both sides have been seeking to ease tensions over issues including trade disputes, tariffs, and the status of Taiwan.

Earlier this month, Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone, describing the conversation as “very positive.”

Rubio and Wang shook hands and posed for photographers before the delegations, flanked by senior aides, took seats opposite each other in a hotel conference room in central Munich. Neither leader made public remarks, and they did not respond to a shouted question from a Reuters reporter.

By Vafa Guliyeva