Washington DC - Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday warned China against taking any "destabilizing" actions on Taiwan ahead of a trip to Beijing by President Donald Trump next week.

Addressing reporters at the White House, Rubio said he was sure that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would discuss Taiwan when they meet next week for a summit in Beijing.

"I think both countries understand that it is in neither one of our interests to see anything [destabilizing] happen in that part of the world," Rubio said.

"We don't need any destabilizing events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, and I think that's to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese," he continued.

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The summit in Beijing will be the first visit to China that Trump has made since the start of his second term last year. It was delayed by a month after the US and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran in late February.

China has for decades claimed that Taiwan is its sovereign territory, despite the island's longstanding independence, and has ramped up its military presence around Taiwan with large-scale military exercises and drills.

The US has an ambiguous policy on whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, and its military is increasingly stretched as it pulls resources from Asia to support its war in the Middle East.

Rubio, who has never visited China, was an outspoken critic of Beijing's human rights record as a senator, championing legislation that brought sanctions over Beijing's alleged use of forced labor from the Uyghur minority.

Asked if Trump would discuss human rights at the summit, Rubio said: "I think we've proven in some cases it's most effective to raise them in the appropriate setting. But we always raise those issues."

Rubio also called for China to exert pressure on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who left for Beijing on Tuesday.

Iran has exerted control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil once transited, in retaliation against the US and Israel.

China has long been the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and has defied US sanctions for years, long before the war began two months ago.

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"I hope the Chinese tell [Araghchi] what he needs to be told, and what you are doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated," Rubio said.

"You're the bad guy in this," Rubio continued. "You guys should not be blowing up ships."