Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping may meet at a summit in China
China is in talks regarding a possible trilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reported on the contacts with Washington and Moscow. The meeting could take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, but no final agreement has been reached yet.
China has confirmed that it is discussing with Russia and the U.S. the possibility of a joint meeting of the three leaders. This was stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, according to Bloomberg. “China is in contact with the relevant parties regarding a possible meeting between the leaders of China, Russia, and the U.S.,” she said. Mao Ning also noted that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have already publicly expressed interest in meeting with Xi Jinping. They did so amid preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
As Bloomberg notes, such a meeting would be an extraordinary event in modern international politics. The publication compares its potential significance to the 1945 Yalta Conference, when the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom discussed the postwar order in Europe.
When Might Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping Meet?
One of the possible venues for talks is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. It is scheduled to take place on November 18–19 in Shenzhen, China. It is on the sidelines of this event that a meeting of the three leaders could be organized.
According to media reports, Putin proposed the idea of such a summit. The Russian leader, journalists claim, hopes to discuss the war against Ukraine and possible terms for its conclusion that would be favorable to Moscow.
The Kremlin has stated that preparations for the meeting are underway. However, as of November 4, no final agreement had been reached on holding trilateral talks. In other words, for now, we are only talking about the possibility of such a meeting, not a confirmed summit.
Will the leaders discuss the war in Ukraine?
The possibility of trilateral talks raises some questions regarding Ukraine. Specifically, can Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping discuss the war without the participation of the Ukrainian side? Recently, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke about his conversation with Xi Jinping. According to him, the Chinese leader was surprised by the question about possible talks on Ukraine involving China, Russia, and the U.S. Xi Jinping also rejected the suggestion that the three countries could discuss the Ukrainian issue in such a format.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the possibility of a meeting between the three leaders, warned against agreements on Ukraine’s future made without its participation. “I really don’t want this to be ‘Yalta 2, 3, 4,’ where there is a redistribution of influence,” Zelenskyy said. He was referring to the 1945 Yalta Conference, at which the leaders of the USSR, the United States, and the United Kingdom agreed on the postwar order in Europe. It is important for Ukraine that any international negotiations on ending the war do not turn into decisions about its future without Kyiv’s participation.
Thus, China has confirmed contacts with Russia and the U.S. regarding a possible meeting, but its format and agenda have not yet been agreed upon. It is currently unknown whether negotiations will take place at the APEC summit or whether the issue of the war in Ukraine will be raised there. This is reported by Bloomberg.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may meet with U.S. President Donald Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. However, no specific agreements regarding the talks have been reached yet. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is already preparing a meeting between Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Kremlin stated that Russia, the U.S., and China have begun preparations for a trilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing are reportedly already ready to hold the meeting. At the same time, he described potential talks involving Russia, the U.S., and Ukraine in November as preliminary.
Russia has proposed holding talks in November involving Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping. According to reports, the Kremlin seeks to reach an agreement to end the war on terms favorable to Moscow, while there are no plans to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the meeting.
