Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit
US Secretary of State met with foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in New York.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio greet each other during a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among South Korea, the United States and Japan held on the sidelines of ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meetings in Manila on Jul. 22. Yonhap
Photograph: The Korea Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in New York on Monday.
- The meetings took place before a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.
- Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani and Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals.
- South Korea is negotiating a $350 billion investment package in the United States.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 16 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 6 of the 22 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
15/100
22 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 16 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in New York on Monday. The meetings occurred ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping scheduled for Thursday at the White House. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also met with Rubio in New York, and the two signed a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals.
South Korea is currently negotiating a $350 billion investment package in the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung are scheduled to speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
Disagreement on meeting details
The Korea Times reported that Rubio, his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun, and Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi posed for photos but did not take questions from reporters before their meeting. Other reports did not specify whether questions were taken.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the specific concerns raised by a South Korean opposition lawmaker regarding the $350 billion investment package, nor do they detail the anxieties of U.S. allies about potential U.S. concessions to China on trade and Taiwan, as reported by The Korea Times.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 21 Sept 2026, 19:15, 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
1 rated outlet
- The Korea Times, the only left-rated report, focused on the geopolitical concerns surrounding the upcoming Trump-Xi summit. It noted that U.S. allies are anxious Trump may offer concessions to China on issues like Taiwan and trade. The report also mentioned that a South Korean opposition lawmaker called for parliamentary scrutiny of the $350 billion investment package, warning of potential financial risks.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports highlighted Secretary of State Marco Rubio's busy schedule in New York, which included meetings with allies and discussions on critical minerals. These reports mentioned Rubio's meetings with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, as well as his signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals with Italy's foreign minister.
Right
9 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's meetings with Japan and South Korea's foreign ministers, often using headlines that emphasised his direct engagement. These reports also noted his presence in New York ahead of President Trump's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The signing of the critical minerals agreement with Italy was also mentioned in some of these reports.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit?
- Of the 16 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 6% are rated left, 38% are rated centre, 56% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 22. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 16 rated outlets on this story, 6% are rated left, 38% are rated centre, 56% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit biased?
- Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit is one event reported by 22 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 side is not reporting Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Rubio meets Asian allies ahead of Trump-Xi summit?
- 22 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.
- Who met in New York on Monday?
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also met with Rubio, and they signed a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals.
- What is South Korea negotiating with the US?
- South Korea is negotiating a $350 billion investment package in the United States. This is part of a trade deal struck between the allies last year.
- What was the purpose of the meeting between Rubio and Asian allies?
- The meetings took place ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Allies were reportedly anxious about potential U.S. concessions to China on trade and Taiwan.
Read it at the source
22 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
1Centre
6- Rubio meets Japanese and Korean allies ahead of Trump China summit (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens Fox 25 Oklahoma City in a new tab)
Fox 25 Oklahoma City — is Fox 25 Oklahoma City biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens WWMT in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens CBS Austin in a new tab)
CBS Austin — is CBS Austin biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens WKRC in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens Komo News in a new tab)
Right
9- JUST IN: Sec. Marco Rubio just WALKED OUT and met with JAPAN and South Korea's Foreign Ministers (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rubio meets Japanese and Korean allies ahead of Trump China summit (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens WBFF in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens My NBC 15 in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens KVII in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens KATV in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens Fox 17 in a new tab)
- Rubio packs NYC schedule with markets, allies and critical minerals talks (opens WBMA in a new tab)
Not rated
6- New York: Tajani and Rubio Sign Strategic Agreement on Critical Minerals (opens The Social Post in a new tab)
The Social Post — is The Social Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Tajani and Rubio Sign in New York the Italy-USA Agreement on Critical Minerals (opens Bigodino in a new tab)
- Tajani and Rubio Sign in New York L'Intesa Sui Minerali Critici (opens notiziegeopolitiche.net in a new tab)
notiziegeopolitiche.net — is notiziegeopolitiche.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Tajani and Rubio Sign in New York a Memorandum of Understanding Italy-USA on Critical Materials (opens italpress.com in a new tab)
italpress.com — is italpress.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Italy and the US move from critical-minerals diplomacy to industrial policy (opens Decode39 in a new tab)
- EXTERNAL MINISTRY - FARNESINE: "TAJANI AT THE UN IN NEW YORK: MEETING WITH THE RUBIO STATE SECRETARY AND AGREEMENT ON CRITIC MINERALS" - Journalist's Agency Opinion. News From Italy - World / Trentino Alto Adige (opens Agenzia giornalistica Opinione in a new tab)
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.
