China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks
The two diplomats spoke by phone a week before an expected meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks
Photograph: The Hindu (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
- Wang Yi stated that China and the US should prepare for future high-level interactions with equality, respect, and reciprocity.
- The call occurred one week before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
- The two diplomats also discussed the situation in West Asia.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 9 of the 20 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
20/100
20 sources · methodology
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Wang Yi told Rubio that the two countries should prepare for the next stage of high-level interactions in a spirit of equality, respect, and reciprocity. According to Wang Yi, head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor of China-U.S. ties. The conversation took place a week before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. for a meeting with President Donald Trump. The two diplomats also discussed the situation in West Asia.
Coverage disagreements
The Korea Times, The Hindu, and Al-Monitor report that Wang Yi said the two sides should strengthen communication, advance cooperation, manage differences, and respect each other’s core interests. The digests from 15min.lt, Gazeta Shqiptare Online, www.ertnews.gr, Naftemporiki, rthk.hk, PressNews Agency, Business Daily, Cryptocurrency News, Crypto Briefing, WTVB, The Straits Times, i-cable.com, and Terra do not include this detail.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention that the call occurred a week before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. for a meeting with President Donald Trump. The centre-rated digests do not mention Wang Yi's statement that head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor of China-U.S. ties. None of the right-rated digests mention Wang Yi's statement that China and the US should prepare for the next stage of high-level interactions in a spirit of equality, respect, and reciprocity.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 17 Sept 2026, 16:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on the call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Hindu, in its full report, stated that Wang Yi said the two countries should prepare for the next stage of high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect, and reciprocity. The Hindu also reported that Wang Yi added that head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor of China-U.S. ties and that the two sides should strengthen communication, advance cooperation, manage differences, and respect each other’s core interests. The Korea Times and Al-Monitor digests also included these points. The left-rated reports mentioned the call occurred a week before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. for a meeting with President Donald Trump. The situation in West Asia was also noted as a topic of discussion.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on the phone call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, occurring days before the leaders' meeting. 15min.lt reported that the call took place days before the two countries' leaders were scheduled to meet. WTVB and South China Morning Post digests noted the call between the top diplomats and the upcoming meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The South China Morning Post digest also mentioned that the two diplomats held an in-depth discussion on 'high-level exchanges' between the two countries.
Right
3 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports highlighted that China and the US are stepping up contacts ahead of an expected meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. India Today's digest stated that trade, the Middle East, and wider strategic tensions are set to shape the summit. News-pravda.com's digest reported that contacts between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump should remain the main guideline in China-US relations and that Beijing and Washington need to prepare for a new round of high-level dialogue. The Straits Times digest mentioned discussions on high-level interactions, cooperation, and managing differences ahead of an expected Xi-Trump meeting.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 36% are rated left, 37% are rated centre, 27% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 20. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks biased?
- China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks is one event reported by 20 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered China's Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio discuss high-level talks?
- 20 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When did Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak by phone?
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call on Thursday, September 17, 2026. This conversation took place a week before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
- What did Wang Yi say about China-US relations?
- According to Wang Yi, China and the US should prepare for the next stage of high-level interactions in a spirit of equality, respect, and reciprocity. He also stated that head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor of China-U.S. ties.
- What other topics were discussed during the call?
- In addition to discussing preparations for future high-level interactions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the situation in West Asia during their phone call.
Read it at the source
20 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- China, US top diplomats discuss 'high-level interactions' in call, Beijing says (opens The Korea Times in a new tab)
The Korea Times — is The Korea Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China, U.S. top diplomats discuss ‘high-level interactions’ in call, Beijing says (opens The Hindu in a new tab)
- Wang, Rubio hold phone conversation (opens rthk.hk in a new tab)
- China, US top diplomats discuss 'high-level interactions' in call, Beijing says (opens Al-Monitor in a new tab)
Al-Monitor — is Al-Monitor biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
4- US and Chinese Diplomats Spoke by Phone Before Leaders' Meeting (opens 15min.lt in a new tab)
- China, US top diplomats discuss 'high-level interactions' in call ... (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- China, US top diplomats discuss ‘high-level interactions’ in call, Beijing says (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Breaking | China’s Wang Yi holds phone call with Rubio days before Xi visits US (opens South China Morning Post in a new tab)
South China Morning Post — is South China Morning Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
3- China, US prepare for next stage of high-level talks ahead of Xi-Trump summit (opens India Today in a new tab)
India Today — is India Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The contacts between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump should remain the main guideline in China-US relations, and Beijing and Washington need to prepare for a new round of high-level dialogue (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- China, US diplomats discuss high-level interactions ahead of Xi-Trump meeting (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
9- Chinese Foreign Minister and Marco Rubio Talk on the Phone Before Xi-Trump Meeting: Let's Strengthen Communication and Cooperation (opens Gazeta Shqiptare Online in a new tab)
Gazeta Shqiptare Online — is Gazeta Shqiptare Online biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China-US Diplomatic Contacts Ahead of President Xi's Visit to Washington (opens ertnews.gr in a new tab)
ertnews.gr — is ertnews.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Telephone Conversation Between Chinese and US Foreign Ministers Before Xi Meeting (opens Naftemporiki in a new tab)
Naftemporiki — is Naftemporiki biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China, US top diplomats discuss ‘high-level interactions’ in call, Beijing says (opens PressNewsAgency in a new tab)
PressNewsAgency — is PressNewsAgency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese-US Foreign Ministers Hold Phone Conversation Ahead of Xi's Visit to Washington (opens Business Daily in a new tab)
Business Daily — is Business Daily biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China, US diplomats discuss high-level interactions amid tensions (opens Crypto Briefing in a new tab)
Crypto Briefing — is Crypto Briefing biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China, US diplomats discuss high-level interactions amid tensions (opens Cryptocurrency News in a new tab)
Cryptocurrency News — is Cryptocurrency News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Wang Yi and Rubio Speak by Phone to Discuss High-Level Exchanges Between the Two Countries (opens i-cable.com in a new tab)
i-cable.com — is i-cable.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
