U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the State Department said, their first in-person meeting at a time of simmering trade tensions between the two major powers.

"The signing of this... marks an important step toward establishing a robust civil nuclear partnership between the United States and Malaysia," the State Department said.

Rubio met with Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday evening, having already met with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in his first trip to Asia since taking office.