Beijing has opposed Moscow’s attempts to include the war in Ukraine on the agenda of a possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks are expected to take place in the Chinese city of Shenzhen during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19.
Reuters reports Beijing’s position, citing a European diplomat and a second source familiar with preparations for the meeting. Both spoke on condition of anonymity. According to them, Moscow wanted to put the war in Ukraine on the table, but China did not support the proposal.
A U.S. official said on November 14 that Trump was unlikely to raise the issue. According to the official, the trilateral talks are not the appropriate format for discussing the war. However, the agenda and format of the possible meeting have still not been finalized.
Different goals for the three leaders
According to Reuters, Vladimir Putin sees the meeting as an opportunity to end the war on terms favorable to Moscow. Donald Trump, for his part, expects the talks to lead to progress on nuclear arms control.
For Xi Jinping, the format carries separate risks. China has approximately 500 nuclear warheads, while the arsenals of the United States and Russia each exceed 5,000 warheads. For this reason, Beijing has no interest in discussing nuclear arms control in a framework in which it would be placed alongside the two largest nuclear powers.
Fears of a new division of spheres of influence
In Ukraine, there are concerns that major powers could make decisions about spheres of influence without the participation of the countries whose interests are directly affected. These fears are being compared with the 1945 Yalta Conference, at which the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and the USSR determined key parameters of the postwar world order.
“We really do not want this to turn into ‘Yalta 2, 3, 4,’ with a redistribution of spheres of influence,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.The possible meeting is already also being viewed as an opportunity for the Kremlin to demonstrate to the Russian public that Moscow remains a significant player in international politics. At the same time, it remains unclear whether the talks will take place and which issues will ultimately be included in them.
Sources: obozrevatel.com, reuters.com