US President Donald Trump said he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China. The forum will be held on November 18 and 19 in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen.
“One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi, and that will be interesting. We will talk about many things, including nuclear disarmament, but we will also discuss other topics. We are trying to end the war in Iran,” Trump told reporters before departing Florida for Washington.
Beijing confirms talks on meeting
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it is communicating with representatives of the countries concerned about a meeting between Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Spokesperson Mao Ning specified that talks are under way, but no final decision has been made on the meeting or its format.
The US president already said in October that he was open to trilateral talks with the Chinese and Russian leaders on arms control. At the time, he described nuclear disarmament as a possible key topic.
Later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed using such a meeting to discuss ending the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv was not mentioned as a participant in the possible format.
Trump also speaks about the war in Ukraine
In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Trump said he believes the United States is close to a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said the result would be for Ukraine to be “a little different,” but did not provide details about what he meant.
A possible meeting in Shenzhen would be the third meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping in 2026. According to The Associated Press, the two leaders maintain a fragile trade truce that is due to expire in January 2027. At the same time, Washington is insisting that Beijing fulfill its commitments, including purchases of agricultural products and deliveries of rare earths and other critical minerals.
For now, it has been confirmed that Trump will travel to China for the APEC summit. The holding of talks between the three leaders, as well as the specific topics and outcomes, remain subject to further arrangements.
Sources: reuters.com, apnews.com, news.rthk.hk