U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping his up his second and final day at a Southeast Asian security conference with a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart as tensions grow between Washington and Beijing over issues from trade to security and China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Axar.az reports, citing ABC news, after discussions with regional countries at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Malaysia, Rubio on Friday was close out his first official trip to Asia in his first face-to-face talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the State Department said.

The meeting comes 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 meetings come against a backdrop of global and regional unease over U.S. policies, notably on trade and large tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on friend and foe alike.

While Rubio heard complaints about the tariffs from his Southeast Asian counterparts, he told reporters Thursday that many of them focused their discussion 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,” he 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.”