Washington DC - Secretary of State Marco Rubio will welcome counterparts from the "Quad" – Australia, India, and Japan – to Washington on Tuesday, in an at least brief refocus on Asia, the State Department announced.

Rubio had welcomed Quad foreign ministers on January 21 in his first meeting after President Donald Trump's inauguration, seen as a sign that the new administration would prioritize engagement with like-minded countries to counter China.

Since then, much of Rubio's attention has been on the Middle East, with the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israel, and on Ukraine, as Trump unsuccessfully seeks a ceasefire in Russia's invasion.

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"The Secretary's first diplomatic engagement was with the Quad, and next week's summit builds on that momentum to advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, using the US phrasing against Chinese domination of Asia.

"This is what American leadership looks like – strength, peace, and prosperity," Pigott told reporters.

Trump campaigned vowing a tough line on China but has sent different messages since taking office.

Trump earlier in June hailed relations with China as "excellent" after the world's two largest economies reached a framework agreement to calm a trade war.

Rubio is a longtime hawk on China and has vowed to "aggressively" revoke visas for Chinese students in the US.