China confirms talks on a historic Xi-Trump-Putin meeting at the APEC summit

China has confirmed for the first time that it is in talks about a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a gathering that, if it takes place, would bring the three leaders together in the same room for the first time.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing in Beijing this week that China «is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state», according to the official Xinhua news agency and AFP. Mao Ning gave no date, agenda or format, and Beijing has announced no final decision.

The meeting, if it happens, would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city hosting this year's gathering of the forum's 21 economies, including the United States and Russia. The Financial Times reported that officials from the three countries had held quiet talks for two weeks to arrange it, and that Putin proposed the trilateral format to Trump in a phone call on October 9.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that work is under way to organize the meeting and expressed hope that it will be finalized in the coming days. Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen to meet Xi for the third time this year, at a moment when the fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing expires in January.

The three leaders have met in pairs many times, but have never held formal talks all three together. Trump has said he would like to talk with Xi and Putin about nuclear arms control, while Putin is focused on the war in Ukraine, without Kyiv at the table. Experts quoted by the Associated Press cautioned, however, that the meeting is unlikely to produce substantive agreements and could amount to a photo carefully choreographed by China.

Separately, the United States, Russia and Ukraine are due to hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, a meeting that could set the tone for whatever the leaders discuss in China.

Photo: Archivo A Lo Claro

Source: Associated Press