Trump to Hold Trilateral Summit With Xi and Putin in Shenzhen

A White House official told the New York Post that the talks, expected on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Shenzhen, could also touch on the war in Iran and North Korea.

The newspaper reported Friday that the three-way meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, Nov. 19. China’s Foreign Ministry said the same day that the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will take place in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19, with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the chair.

Nuclear Arms at the Center

The discussion is expected to focus largely on an ambitious nuclear arms control pact, the Post said, among the world’s three largest nuclear powers.

Trump already all but confirmed the plans, the newspaper wrote. Speaking to reporters on Nov. 8, he said, “One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi, and that’ll be interesting.”

“We’ll talk a lot of things, including denuclearization, but we’ll be talking a lot of things. We’re trying to end the war in Iran, and we’re doing well,” he added.

Ukraine Remains on the Table

Trump has not met Russian President Vladimir Putin in person since a summit last August in Alaska, which centered on U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The Post said that conflict is another potential topic in Shenzhen. He hosted Xi at the White House in September.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have held repeated talks with Putin this year. Their most recent Kremlin meeting was on Thursday, when Putin told the envoys he wanted an “eternal peace.”

In October, Moscow proposed a three-way meeting on the APEC sidelines to pursue a Ukraine settlement on terms favorable to Russia, excluding Ukraine and Europe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has since urged Washington not to spring “surprises” in talks with Putin in China.

Format Still in Dispute

No joint announcement has been issued by the three governments. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said earlier this month that Beijing “is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said work is under way to organize such a meeting.

In its Friday briefing on APEC, the Chinese ministry said Xi would hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines. It did not mention a trilateral session.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Washington and Beijing were at odds over the format. Beijing wanted a tightly scripted meeting with prepared statements, while Washington sought a more open discussion, particularly on nuclear arms control. China also opposes trilateral nuclear talks, the Journal said, a disagreement that had cast doubt on whether the summit would take place.