There is a “high probability” that US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday he had "positive and constructive" talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia at a time of tension over Washington's tariff offensive.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had a 'positive' meeting in Malaysia on Friday, both sides said, in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the rival powers.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and that the talks were productive, highlighting that they exchanged "new" and "different" approaches to ending the war in Ukraine.

Marco Rubio’s first trip to Asia as secretary of state was aimed at assuring U.S. partners. Instead, it was cut short and dominated by trade tensions.

The U.S. Secretary of State wants to bolster defense ties in the Indo-Pacific, while distrust of Trump’s commitments to the region, particularly on economic issues, runs deep.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in person in Malaysia for the second time, as relations between the United States and Russia begin to sour. The two held a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday.