China in contact with US, Russia on possible leaders’ meeting

BEIJING

Both U.S. and Russian presidents have publicly indicated interest to have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit. (AFP Photo)

China said on Nov. 4 that it was in contact with the United States and Russia about a possible three-way leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of a regional gathering in Shenzhen this month.

“China is in communication on a China-Russia-U.S. heads of state meeting with relevant parties,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing when asked about the possible trilateral summit on the sidelines of the APEC meeting on Nov. 18-19.

The Kremlin said on Oct. 21 that the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. and Russian counterparts, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which would be a first, was “being prepared.”

Xi, 73, and Trump, 80, have already met twice this year, most recently with the Chinese leader visiting the White House in September, and they are due to come together again at a G20 summit in Miami in December.

The two leaders vowed to extend a trade truce they agreed in October 2025 and to explore tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods on each side.

Trump last met Putin, 74, in person in Alaska in August 2025.

Xi and Putin have met dozens of times, most recently in May when the Russian leader visited Beijing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned last month that a trilateral summit could offer a platform to redistribute influence, similar to after World War II.

“We really don’t want this to turn into ‘Yalta 2, 3, 4’, with a redistribution of influence,” he said, referring to the 1945 summit of Soviet, U.S. and British leaders on dividing up the post-war map.

“Russia wants this meeting more than anyone,” Zelensky said, warning against handing Moscow “another major diplomatic advantage.”