AsianFin -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, marking the first in-person talks between the two senior officials and a possible step toward arranging a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which concludes later in the day. Neither diplomat made public remarks ahead of the closed-door discussions.

The encounter represents one of the most senior-level exchanges between Washington and Beijing since Trump’s return to the White House in January. A constructive dialogue between Rubio and Wang could set the stage for a future presidential summit, potentially reinforcing the recent thaw in U.S.-China relations following a fragile trade truce.

However, major points of contention—from technology restrictions to regional security—continue to cloud the bilateral relationship.