New Secretary of State Marco Rubio told China's foreign minister on Friday that the U.S. would put the American people first and promote U.S. interests in its relationship with Beijing.

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.

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concern about Beijing’s coercive behavior against Taiwan and aggression in the South China Sea in his first formal call with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday,

Tensions between the U.S. and China have been rising for some time now, and Rubio's appointment has widely been seen as a sign that Trump plans to maintain a hard line on China during his second term. One of the most outspoken China hawks in Washington, Rubio has introduced several bills targeting the Chinese Communist Party.

New U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed China's "dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea" with his Philippine counterpart on Wednesday and underscored the "ironclad" U.S.

The new Secretary of State already has said the Hong Kong-based operator of Panama Canal-adjacent ports could be a “big national security and defense problem.”

On his first full day as secretary of state, Marco Rubio is meeting with his counterparts from a group of countries known as the Quad: the United States plus India, Japan and Australia, representing nearly 2 billion people and more than a third of global GDP.

Rubio's appointment as secretary of state has been seen as sign that Trump plans to maintain a hard line on China.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio painted a dark vision of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi by phone on Friday, China's foreign ministry said, the first call between the two top diplomats since President Donald Trump's administration took office on Monday.