U.S. Secretary of State Rubio.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and Beijing said he told the known China hawk that the direction and tone of U.S.-China ties had been set by their leaders and he hoped Rubio would play a constructive role for the good of the people of both countries.

Rubio, in the first telephone call between the two top diplomats under the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, told Wang that Trump, who began his second term on Monday, would pursue a relationship with China that "advances U.S. interests and puts the American people first," a State Department statement said.

"The Secretary also stressed the United States' commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea," it said.

China's foreign ministry said the two discussed U.S.-China relations and Taiwan.

"I hope you would conduct yourself well and play a constructive role in the future of the Chinese and American people and in world peace and stability," Wang told Rubio, who in his Senate confirmation hearing last week labeled China as the gravest threat facing the United States.

The talks came after Trump said on Wednesday he was considering a 10% duty on Chinese imports because of Beijing's role in the fentanyl trade.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry's statement, Wang told Rubio their respective heads of state had "pointed out the direction and established the tone for China-U.S. relations."

"The teams of both sides should implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation, promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era," Wang said.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump agreed in a phone call ahead of the latter's inauguration, to create a strategic communication channel on "major issues."

Trump said at a speech to the World Economic Forum on Thursday that he sees a very good relationship between the United States and China, and that he hopes China can help end Russia's war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, he said he had had a "good, friendly conversation" with Xi and he thought he could reach a trade deal with Beijing.

Trump said on Monday he had received an invitation to visit China and could travel there as soon as this year.

In the first year of his first term, Trump quickly struck up a relationship with Xi and both men lavishly hosted each other in Florida and Beijing. But that did not stop ties from deteriorating into a trade war that unleashed a series of tit-for-tat tariffs and uprooted global supply chains.

Rubio said at his confirmation hearing that China believed it was on a path to supplant the United States as the dominant world power in the next 20-30 years.

Wang said that China has "no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone, but we must defend our legitimate right to development."

On Taiwan, he said that the island has been part of China's territory since ancient times and China would never allow it to be separated from China.

Democratically governed Taiwan rejects Beijing's claim of sovereignty, and says China's Communist Party has never ruled over the island, where the Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, allowed under U.S. law, have continued to strain Beijing's ties with Washington.

"The United States has made a solemn commitment to pursue the one-China policy in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and must not break its promise," Wang said.

"A major power should behave like a major power, should assume its due international responsibilities, should maintain world peace, and should help all countries achieve common development," echoing criticisms U.S. officials have made about China.

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Rubio pauses foreign aid from State Department and USAID to ensure it puts ‘America First’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to allow the Trump administration to review if the money puts "America First."

On Sunday, the State Department released a statement about falling in step with President Donald Trump’s executive order to reevaluate and realign foreign aid from the U.S.

"Consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, Secretary [Marco] Rubio has paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review," the statement read. "He is initiating a review of all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda. President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people."

The statement continued, saying the review and alignment of foreign assistance on behalf of taxpayers is a "moral imperative," adding that Rubio is proud to protect America’s investment "with a deliberate and judicious review" of how the money is spent on aiding foreign countries overseas.

"The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission," the statement read. "As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’"

The announcement comes after the Trump administration ordered staffers with USAID to stop providing foreign aid worldwide or face "disciplinary action" for not complying.

Reuters reported that the Trump administration sent a sharply-worded memo to more than 10,000 staff members at USAID on Saturday, offering a "stop-work" directive from Friday that put a freeze on U.S. foreign aid around the world.

Trump Administration Needs More Planes To Carry Out Deportations: Report

The wire service reviewed the memo and said it laid out expectations for the workforce on how to achieve Trump’s goals to put "America First."

"We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision," Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in the internal memo, titled "Message and Expectation to the Workforce."

"The President has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come," the memo added. Reuters reported that it confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.

Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid just hours after taking office, to review if the funding was in line with his foreign policy priorities.

On Friday, the State Department issued a pause on aid worldwide.

The U.S. is the largest donor of aid globally. During fiscal year 2023, the U.S. dispersed $72 billion in assistance. It also provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

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