VOA News | Wednesday, December 18, 2024 
Sanctioned by China, Rubio confident in engaging Beijing as US top diplomat

STATE DEPARTMENT — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a “substantive” face-to-face meeting Wednesday morning with Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump as his nominee for the next U.S. secretary of state. The meeting comes as Trump’s team prepares for the transition process. “It was a good, constructive and substantive conversation,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters during a briefing. “We continue to stand ready to help support a seamless transition on January 20,” he added. In August 2020, China sanctioned Rubio, a longtime critic of the government in Beijing, along with others, citing what it described as “egregious behavior” related to “Hong Kong-related issues.” Rubio told VOA earlier in December that he is confident in his ability “to find some solution” to engage with Beijing if confirmed. When asked if he would maintain his previous stance on foreign policy issues, Rubio said, “The president sets foreign policy, and our job at the State [Department] will be to execute it.” –Read more