It appears that China will continue to ban Marco Rubio, despite the fact that he is now the U.S. Secretary of State.

This is according to a report from Breitbart News.

As we will see, other recent reports have suggested that - despite the fact that China is sticking with the ban - it may be softening its position toward Rubio. He is, after all, now the United States' top diplomat.

Before we get to that, though, we'll look at the measures that China has taken against Rubio.

Background

It was in 2021 that China sanctioned Rubio and others.

Breitbart explains:

Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz of Texas were targeted by sanctions from Beijing in July 2020 because they spoke out against China’s oppression of the Uyghur Muslims. The United States had just imposed sanctions against Chinese officials involved in what then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called “horrific and systematic abuses” against the Uyghurs.

This, however, is only part of the story.

The outlet continues:

Rubio was also named in retaliatory sanctions China imposed against U.S. officials in August 2020, after the United States sanctioned eleven Chinese officials for political repression in Hong Kong. Several other Republican senators were banned from traveling to China, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA).

These measures remain in effect until this day.

The latest

China now appears to be walking a fine line with regard to Rubio.

On the one hand, the Associated Press recently reported that "China’s veteran foreign minister has issued a veiled warning to America’s new secretary of state: Behave yourself."

This, of course, does not sound too good for diplomacy. However, that "veteran foreign minister," namely, Wang Yi, has actually spoken to Rubio - despite the bans. It was in fact during their conversation that Wang reportedly told Rubio to behave.

The Associated Press reports:

Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed the message in a phone call Friday, their first conversation since Marco Rubio’s confirmation as President Donald Trump’s top diplomat four days earlier. “I hope you will act accordingly,” Wang told Rubio, according to a Foreign Ministry statement, employing a Chinese phrase typically used by a teacher or a boss warning a student or employee to behave and be responsible for their actions.

Chances are that the Trump administration is not going to take too kindly too this. We'll have to see how U.S.-Chinese relations turn out in the coming years.