Quad not 'anti-China', says Rubio as first summit in two years set before Trump-Xi talks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified on Saturday that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, is not an anti-China coalition as the group's top diplomats prepared for a leaders' summit in the Philippines next month. This comes just weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta, Rubio emphasized that the Quad is not a coalition against any particular country or entity. He stated, "It's not an anti-China or anti-anybody coalition; it's not a format that exists to be against any country. To the extent we express concern about things in the Quad, it's concern about behaviors. It's concern about activities."

Rubio added that the activities or behaviors he refers to are repetitive and coming from one particular country, which will be evident to all. The Chinese embassy in Washington expressed Beijing's opposition to the formation of exclusive groupings or engagement in bloc confrontations, stating that cooperation between countries should promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity without targeting any specific nation.