Guwahati: US President Donald Trump has indicated that he is likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a rare trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen next week.
China on Monday, November 9, said it was in communication with relevant parties over the proposed meeting, leaving open the possibility of the three leaders holding talks during the summit scheduled for November 18 and 19 in southern China.
Trump indicated on Sunday that discussions could cover the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran and nuclear arms control. He told reporters that he expected to meet Putin and Xi and that the leaders would discuss several issues, including denuclearisation and efforts to end the war in Iran.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing was in communication with relevant parties regarding a possible meeting between the Chinese, Russian and US presidents.
Trump and Xi are also scheduled to hold bilateral talks next week, marking their third meeting this year. The two leaders previously met during Trump’s visit to Beijing in May and Xi’s visit to Washington in September. They are expected to meet again at the G20 summit in Miami towards the end of the year, which would make it four meetings in 2026.
The United States and China have sought to stabilise bilateral ties and pursue what they describe as a “constructive relationship of strategic stability”. However, tensions persist over trade tariffs, restrictions on semiconductors, rare earths and Taiwan.
Chinese analysts have played down the likelihood of a formal trilateral summit, despite Trump’s remarks earlier this year about a possible “G2” arrangement involving Washington and Beijing.
Su Liuqiang, a scholar at the Centre for American Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said Russia was the most enthusiastic of the three countries about the prospect of such a meeting. He considered an informal exchange to be more likely than a structured trilateral summit.
Su said political resistance in the United States and differing priorities among the three countries could complicate efforts to organise formal talks. Anti-Russia sentiment remains strong in the US and among its European allies, particularly over concerns about negotiating with Moscow while bypassing Ukraine and Europe.
He said Russia’s primary focus was a ceasefire in Ukraine, while Washington was interested in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and nuclear non-proliferation. China, meanwhile, supports peace talks but must balance its relations with the United States, Russia, Europe and Ukraine.
In this context, Su said a low-profile meeting was more realistic, with practical outcomes potentially focusing on stabilising global energy supplies.
Although Beijing favours multilateralism over arrangements such as a G2 or a US-China-Russia grouping, Su said a trilateral meeting would still carry significance. It could indicate growing interest among major powers in managing strategic competition and preventing it from escalating, even as geopolitical rivalry continues.