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

Quad foreign ministers finalized preparations for a leaders’ summit in Manila next month, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Quad is not an anti-China coalition, while acknowledging that its concerns about certain behaviors repeatedly involve one country. The leaders are expected to discuss further steps on maritime security and disaster response. The summit will be the Quad leaders’ first in more than two years.

The Quad comprises the United States, India, Japan and Australia, and Australia holds the grouping’s rotating chair this year.

The Quad foreign ministers’ statement raised concerns about economic coercion, arbitrary export restrictions and non-market practices that create overcapacity and disrupt critical-industry supply chains.

The Quad launched a $20 billion Critical Minerals Initiative Framework at its May meeting.

The previous Quad leaders’ summit was held in September 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware, after India’s planned hosting the following year faced repeated delays.

The Philippines is scheduled to host Asean leaders’ and other multilateral meetings from November 16 to 18.

Published Nov 2, 2026 10:08 am KST

Updated Nov 2, 2026 10:17 am KST

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosts a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Oct. 31. Reuters-Yonhap

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, was not an "anti-China" coalition, as the grouping's top diplomats finalized preparations for the leaders' summit in the Philippines next month.

Rubio's statement comes just weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China.

"It is not an anti-China or anti-anybody coalition," Rubio said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta.

"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.

"Now, those activities or behaviors are coming repetitively from one country. That's going to be obvious to everybody."

The Chinese embassy in Washington said that Beijing opposes "forming exclusive groupings or engaging in bloc confrontation."

"Cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity, and not target any third party," embassy spokesperson Liu Chang said in a statement to the South China Morning Post.

The Quad, an informal grouping of four countries — the U.S., India, Japan and Australia — is widely viewed as a mechanism to counter China's growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Rubio added that the Quad is building "really good momentum", citing the bloc's initiatives regarding maritime security and disaster response.

"And I think hopefully when our leaders meet in November, they will be able to announce some more concrete steps," he said.

Without naming China, the Quad foreign ministers' joint statement expressed grave concerns over "overcapacity" and vowed to build "reliable and open global supply chains and trusted and resilient infrastructure".

"They [Quad foreign ministers] expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions, as well as non-market policies and practices that result in overcapacity to disrupt global supply chains in critical industries," the statement added.

Leaders of the Quad countries are scheduled to meet in Manila for their first summit in more than two years, marking a departure from previous leader-level gatherings held exclusively in member countries.

The Philippines holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this year and will host the bloc's leaders' summit and other multilateral meetings from November 16 to 18.

After attending the Quad summit and other engagements in the Philippines, Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings, where he will hold his third bilateral meeting of the year with the Chinese president.

"It always helps prior to engagements with the [People's Republic of China] for the U.S. to coordinate and consult with key allies and partners," said Edgard Kagan, who served as U.S. ambassador to Malaysia from December 2023 to February this year.

Kagan added that the decision to hold a Quad leaders' meeting just before the Trump-Xi talks was "significant", but suggested it was more about strengthening Washington's position than sending a signal to Beijing.

"My view is this is less about deliberately signalling to China than about going back to some of the things that we've traditionally done to strengthen our hand prior to engagements with China," he said.

The previous Quad leaders' summit took place in September 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware, the hometown of former U.S. President Joe Biden.

From left, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong pose for photographs in the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 31. AFP-Yonhap

India was scheduled to host the Quad summit last year, but it faced repeated delays amid worsening ties between New Delhi and Washington over U.S. tariffs, oil sanctions and visa restrictions. Australia holds the grouping's rotating chair this year.

However, the bloc continued to convene frequently at the foreign ministers' level, with recent meetings held in May and July.

After the July meeting, all sides reiterated their commitment to "strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific" and expressed "unwavering support for Asean unity and centrality".

The Quad launched several initiatives to strengthen maritime and economic security at its May meeting, including the $20 billion Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework.

The Quad summit comes amid shifting Trump administration priorities in the Asia-Pacific, where regional partners have questioned the durability of Washington's security commitments and its strategy on China.

In June, the U.S. renamed the Indo-Pacific Command the Pacific Command, reversing a designation made in 2018.

Two months later, Trump ordered the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills to be cut from 11 days to five.

Washington has also reassigned the Japan-based USS George Washington to the war against Iran, leaving the Indo-Pacific without a permanently stationed U.S. aircraft carrier.

The administration has called on allies and partners across the region to cover a larger share of their defense costs.

Acknowledging a "perception" of wavering U.S. commitments, Kagan pointed to Trump's planned trip to Manila this year, his attendance at last year's Asean summit in Malaysia and his visits to Japan and South Korea as proof of continued engagement.

"There is a sense that it helps the U.S. to reinforce our commitment to the region, and I commend the administration for how they are handling this right now."

Read the article at SCMP.

在美国总统特朗普与中国国家主席习近平于深圳会晤之前，四方安全对话（Quad）外长们已敲定下月在马尼拉举行的领导人峰会的筹备工作。美国国务卿马可·卢比奥周六表示，四方安全对话并非反华联盟，但他同时承认，该机制对某些行为的担忧往往涉及中国。预计各国领导人将讨论海上安全和灾害应对方面的进一步措施。此次峰会将是四方安全对话领导人两年多来的首次会晤。

四方安全对话机制由美国、印度、日本和澳大利亚组成，澳大利亚今年担任该机制的轮值主席国。

四方安全对话外长声明对造成产能过剩和扰乱关键行业供应链的经济胁迫、任意出口限制和非市场行为表示关切。

四方安全对话在5月份的会议上启动了一项价值200亿美元的关键矿产倡议框架。

上一次四方安全对话领导人峰会于 2024 年 9 月在特拉华州威尔明顿举行，此前印度原计划于次年主办峰会，但一再推迟。

菲律宾计划于11月16日至18日主办东盟领导人会议及其他多边会议。

发布于2026年11月2日上午10:08（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年11月2日上午10:17（韩国标准时间）

10月31日，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥在美国佐治亚州亚特兰大举行的二十国集团（G20）外长会议期间举行新闻发布会。（路透社-韩联社）

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥周六表示，“四方安全对话”（简称“四方”）并非“反华”联盟。与此同时，该组织的高级外交官们正在敲定下个月在菲律宾举行的领导人峰会的筹备工作。

卢比奥发表此番言论之际，距离美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在中国深圳会见中国领导人习近平仅几周时间。

“这不是一个反华或反任何人的联盟，”鲁比奥在亚特兰大举行的二十国集团（G20）外长会议间隙举行的新闻发布会上说。

“四方安全对话机制的存在并非为了针对任何国家。我们对四方安全对话机制中某些事情的关注，是针对某些行为和活动的关注，”鲁比奥补充道。

“现在，这些活动或行为反复出现在同一个国家。这一点对所有人来说都显而易见。”

中国驻华盛顿大使馆表示，北京反对“形成排他性集团或参与集团对抗”。

“国家间的合作应当有利于地区和平、稳定与繁荣，而不应针对任何第三方，”美国大使馆发言人刘畅在接受《南华早报》采访时表示。

四方安全对话（Quad）是由美国、印度、日本和澳大利亚四个国家组成的非正式组织，被广泛视为对抗中国在亚太地区日益增长的影响力的机制。

鲁比奥补充说，“四方安全对话”正在形成“非常好的势头”，他列举了该组织在海上安全和灾害应对方面的举措。

“我希望我们的领导人在11月开会时，能够宣布一些更具体的措施，”他说。

四方安全对话外长联合声明虽然没有点名中国，但对“产能过剩”表示严重关切，并誓言要建立“可靠、开放的全球供应链和值得信赖、有韧性的基础设施”。

声明还补充说：“他们（四方安全对话外长）对经济胁迫表示严重关切，包括通过任意出口限制以及导致产能过剩、扰乱关键行业全球供应链的非市场政策和做法。”

四方安全对话机制（Quad）各国领导人计划在马尼拉举行两年多来的首次峰会，这标志着以往领导人级别会议仅在成员国境内举行的做法发生了改变。

菲律宾今年担任东南亚国家联盟（东盟）轮值主席国，并将于11月16日至18日主办东盟领导人峰会和其他多边会议。

在出席四方安全对话峰会和在菲律宾的其他活动后，特朗普预计将前往深圳参加亚太经济合作组织（APEC）会议，届时他将与中国国家主席举行今年的第三次双边会晤。

“在与中华人民共和国接触之前，美国与主要盟友和伙伴进行协调和磋商总是有帮助的，”埃德加·卡根说道，他于2023年12月至今年2月担任美国驻马来西亚大使。

卡根补充说，在特朗普与习近平会谈之前举行四方安全对话领导人会议的决定“意义重大”，但他认为这更多的是为了加强华盛顿的地位，而不是向北京发出信号。

他说：“我认为这与其说是故意向中国发出信号，不如说是回归我们过去在与中国接触之前为了增强自身实力而采取的一些传统做法。”

上一次四方安全对话领导人峰会于 2024 年 9 月在特拉华州威尔明顿举行，那里是美国前总统乔·拜登的家乡。

10月31日，在佐治亚州亚特兰大举行的二十国集团（G20）外长会议期间，日本外相茂木敏充、印度外交部长苏杰生、美国国务卿马可·卢比奥和澳大利亚外交部长黄英贤在四方安全对话（Quad）外长会议上合影留念。（法新社-韩联社）

印度原定于去年主办四方安全对话峰会，但由于新德里和华盛顿之间因美国关税、石油制裁和签证限制而关系恶化，峰会一再推迟。澳大利亚今年担任该组织的轮值主席国。

然而，该集团继续频繁举行外长级会议，最近一次会议分别在 5 月和 7 月举行。

7 月会议后，各方重申了“加强自由开放的印太地区”的承诺，并表示“坚定支持东盟的团结和中心地位”。

四方安全对话机制在5月份的会议上启动了多项加强海上和经济安全的倡议，其中包括价值200亿美元的四方安全对话关键矿产倡议框架。

四方安全对话峰会召开之际，正值特朗普政府在亚太地区的优先事项发生转变，该地区的伙伴国家对华盛顿的安全承诺及其对华战略的持久性提出了质疑。

今年 6 月，美国将印太司令部更名为太平洋司令部，推翻了 2018 年的命名。

两个月后，特朗普下令将美韩年度联合军演从 11 天缩短至 5 天。

华盛顿方面还将驻扎在日本的“乔治·华盛顿”号航空母舰调往对伊朗的战争中，使得印太地区没有美国常驻航空母舰。

美国政府呼吁该地区的盟友和伙伴承担更大比例的国防费用。

卡根承认存在着美国承诺动摇的“印象”，但他指出，特朗普今年计划访问马尼拉、去年出席在马来西亚举行的东盟峰会以及访问日本和韩国，都证明了他仍在继续参与其中。

“人们普遍认为，这有助于美国加强对该地区的承诺，我赞扬本届政府目前处理此事的方式。”

请阅读《南华早报》上的文章。