China has officially confirmed for the first time that it has been in contact with the United States and Russia regarding a possible trilateral meeting between Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The talks could take place on 18\u201319 November in Shenzhen, China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Potential topics include nuclear weapons and Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, although no final agreement has yet been reached on holding the meeting.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, 4 November, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mao Ning<\/strong> confirmed that the Chinese side is in contact with Washington and Moscow regarding the organisation of a possible meeting between the leaders of the three countries.<\/p>\n She made the statement during a press briefing in Beijing, whilst answering journalists\u2019 questions about the prospects for negotiations at the APEC summit in Shenzhen.<\/p>\n Previously, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had refrained from confirming that such a format was being prepared. Representatives from Russia and the US, however, had already publicly acknowledged the possibility of a meeting.<\/p>\n According to the Financial Times, representatives of the three countries have been discussing organisational matters over the past two weeks. However, it remains unclear whether Beijing will agree to host a trilateral summit, or whether the talks will be limited to separate bilateral meetings.<\/p>\n The initiative to hold the meeting had previously been put forward by Vladimir Putin<\/strong>. According to Western media reports, Moscow is keen to use a new diplomatic format to discuss the war against Ukraine and its own conditions for bringing it to an end.<\/p>\n Bloomberg notes that Putin\u2019s participation in talks with the leaders of the US and China could represent a significant diplomatic achievement for the Kremlin, which is seeking to ease its international isolation following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/strong> as early as 19 October, he stated that he was open to tripartite meeting<\/a>. At the same time, the US President was considering the possibility of discussing nuclear arms control, rather than just the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/p>\n For China, holding talks at this level could provide an opportunity to strengthen its own diplomatic role in relations between Washington and Moscow. At the same time, Beijing has not yet agreed on a specific agenda.<\/p>\n The Chinese leadership\u2019s stance on the Ukrainian issue remains one of the main sources of uncertainty surrounding the possible summit.<\/p>\nPutin wants to discuss Ukraine; Trump wants to discuss nuclear disarmament<\/h2>\n
Xi Jinping had previously opposed negotiations on Ukraine without Europe<\/h2>\n