By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Diplomatic Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “areas of potential cooperation” between Washington and Beijing and stressed the importance of managing differences following his first in-person meeting with his Chinese counterpart as he wrapped up a two-day regional security forum in Malaysia.

Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Friday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as tensions between the two global powers continue to rise over trade, security, and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, talks to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ meeting during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur Friday, July 11, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

“Look, we’re two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on. I think there’s some areas of potential cooperation. I thought it was very constructive, positive meeting and a lot of work to do,” Rubio told reporters after the meeting.

Rubio also indicated that a potential visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with President Xi Jinping was likely, saying: “The odds are high. I think both sides want to see it happen.”

Trade takes a back seat

While tariffs loomed in the background, Rubio said trade was not a major focus of his talks because “I’m not the trade negotiator.”

“We certainly appreciate the role trade plays in our bilateral relationships with individual countries. But the bulk of our talks here have been about all the other things that we cooperate on,” he said.

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U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio emphasized the importance of keeping channels of communication open during the China meeting.

The meeting was held less than 24 hours after Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur with another rival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during which they discussed potential new avenues to jumpstart Ukraine peace talks.

The high-level meetings took place amid regional unease over U.S. policies — especially Trump’s threats t o impose sweeping new tariffs on both allies and adversaries. Southeast Asian leaders voiced concerns, but according to Rubio, many prioritized discussions on security issues, their concerns about Chinese domination and desire for cooperation with the U.S.

“Of course, it’s raised. It’s an issue,” Rubio said. “But I wouldn’t say it solely defines our relationship with many of these countries. There are a lot of other issues that we work together on, and I think there was great enthusiasm that we were here and that we’re a part of this.”

Security issues looms large

However, Trump sees China as the biggest threat to the United States in multiple fields, not least technology and trade, and like previous U.S. presidents has watched the country greatly expand its influence globally while turning increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific, notably toward its small neighbors over the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Trump has warned of massive tariffs that he could impose on Chinese exports to the United States and preliminary discussions between the two sides have yet to produce significant progress.

Since former President Joe Biden was in office, the U.S. has also accused China of assisting Russia in rebuilding its military industrial sector to help it execute its war against Ukraine. Rubio said the Trump administration shares that view.

“I think the Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally they’ve been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught,” Rubio said Thursday.

China criticizes Trump’s tariffs

Rubio and Wang had been shadowboxing during the two-day ASEAN meeting, with each touting the benefits of their partnership to Southeast Asian nations.

Rubio has played up cooperation, including signing a civil-nuclear cooperation agreement with Malaysia, while Wang has railed against Trump’s threatened tariffs and projected China as a stable counterweight in talks with ASEAN counterparts on the sidelines.

“The U.S. is abusing tariffs, wrecking the free trade system and disrupting the stability of the global supply chain,” Wang told his Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa, according the Chinese foreign ministry.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 10, 2025. (Hasnoor Hussain/Pool Photo via AP)

In a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, Wang said that the tariffs are “an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate right to development.”

“In the face of turbulent global situation, China is willing to be Cambodia’s trustworthy and reliable friend and partner,” he added.

Wang also met with Lavrov on Thursday, where the two offered a joint message aimed at Washington. “Russia and China both support ASEAN’s central role in regional cooperation… and are wary of certain major powers creating divisions and instigating confrontation in the region,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

But Rubio found support from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said Friday that continued U.S. engagement was crucial for regional stability.

“We want to see a region where no one country dominates and no country is dominated,” Wong told reporters when asked about China’s rising might in the region. “We want to see a region where there is a balance of power… where there is no coercion or duress.”

At the same time, Wong said Australia is committed to maintaining a stable relationship with China, noting that engagement remains the best path forward.

Associated Press writers Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Just hours after hitting all-time highs, Wall Street was poised to open with losses on Friday, a possible sign that President Donald Trump’s wave of tariff letters is again raising concern among investors.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 0.5% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.6%.

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Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March.

“Just as the market was catching its breath at new highs — drunk on Nvidia fumes and blissfully ignoring the dollar’s quiet groan — President Trump tugged the rug again,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

“Asian equities, initially hopeful, wilted into flat lines as if someone had pulled the plug on the optimism generator. There’s a growing sense now that risk has become radioactive — tradable, but only in hazmat gloves,” Innes added.

Following weeks of anxiety and wild swings in the market spurred by Trump’s tariff rollouts in the spring, markets have been relatively stable the past couple of months, steadily rising to record levels.

Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high Friday, briefly eclipsing $118,000 before settling around $117,600.

The token’s price jump came amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia’s surge to a $4 trillion valuation. It also comes days before the U.S. Congress’ Crypto Week on July 14, where lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry.

Levi Strauss jumped 6.4% overnight after the jeans maker easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite including the impact of higher tariffs.

Shares of T-Mobile were largely unchanged after the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would not prevent the company from closing on its proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of U.S. Cellular. That deal, announced more than a year ago, had come under antitrust scrutiny from the Justice Department under President Joe Biden’s administration.

U.S. Cellular shares were up a modest 1.2% in premarket.

In midday European trading, Germany’s DAX and Paris’s CAC 40 each shed 0.8%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4%.

In Asia, shares were mixed. Chinese markets were sharply higher in earlier trading, buoyed by signs of possible additional stimulus measures in China and Goldman Sachs Group’s upgrade of Hong Kong stocks to market-weight. The gains were later trimmed, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong finishing 0.6% higher to 24,172.50, and the Shanghai Composite up 0.1% to 3,510.18 .

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.2% lower to 39,569.68, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.2% to 3,173.77.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 8,580.10, and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.8% to 82,518.15.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 77 cents to $67.34 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, gained 68 cents to $69.32 per barrel.

The dollar was trading at 146.95 Japanese yen, up from 146.20 yen. The euro slid to $1.1695 from $1.1704.

LONDON (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown on Friday pleaded not guilty to two further charges related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023.

Brown, 36, denied the more serious charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm at a hearing last month.

The singer, wearing a light brown suit, pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm to Abraham Diaw at the Tape nightclub in the swanky London neighborhood of Mayfair in February 2023.

He also denied having an offensive weapon — a bottle — in a public place during the short hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

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Around 20 fans sat in the public gallery behind the dock for Friday’s hearing, with several gasping as the singer of “Go Crazy,” “Run It” and “Kiss Kiss” walked into the courtroom.

Co-defendant — Brown’s friend and fellow musician — Omololu Akinlolu, 39, also denied actual bodily harm on Friday.

The 2023 attack was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people, prosecutors said.

Brown was released in May on bail of 5 million pounds ($6.75 million), which allowed him to start his “Breezy Bowl XX” tour. Following a series of dates in Europe, he’s set to return to North America at the end of July to play in Miami, before moving across the U.S. with a two-night stop in Toronto along the way.

Brown, who rose to stardom as a teen in 2005, won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for “F.A.M.E..” He earned his second in the same category for “11:11 (Deluxe)” earlier this year.