Trump says he may meet Putin and Xi in China next week

Donald Trump has said he expects to meet Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in China next week, in what could become a rare trilateral encounter between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China. The talks are linked to an Asia-Pacific summit in Shenzhen scheduled for 18-19 November. If it goes ahead, the meeting would bring together three of the world's most powerful leaders at a time of strained relations between their countries.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would be travelling to China and that one of the meetings he expected to hold would be with Putin and Xi. He said the discussions would cover a range of issues, including denuclearisation, and added that the leaders were trying to end the war in Iran. The Kremlin acknowledged on 21 October that the trilateral meeting was being prepared, after earlier reporting that Putin wanted three-way talks as part of efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.

The prospect of the meeting has drawn attention because it would be unusual even if it produced no concrete agreement. Analysts quoted in the supporting material said the encounter could amount to little more than a photo opportunity, while also noting that Russia would benefit from being seen alongside the US and China. One former senior US official said Putin had the most to gain from a trilateral meeting, describing it as a diplomatic coup for Moscow.

Another analyst said China would want the image of the meeting but not the costs. The timing also matters because Trump is expected to visit Shenzhen for the third time this year, amid a fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing that is due to expire in January. Beijing is hosting this year's leaders' summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, a 21-member grouping that includes both the US and Russia.

That makes the summit a rare setting in which the three leaders could meet on the sidelines of a multilateral event rather than in a formally arranged bilateral summit. The possible talks come against the backdrop of Russia's isolation since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and continuing tensions over the war. The supporting material says Putin's interest in the meeting is tied in part to efforts to shape a peace deal in Ukraine in Moscow's favour.

It also notes that Trump has faced criticism in the US for his willingness to engage with authoritarian leaders, including those in China and Russia. Those political and diplomatic sensitivities help explain why the format and agenda of any meeting would be closely watched. For now, the meeting remains unconfirmed in practical terms, even though both Trump's comments and the Kremlin's earlier acknowledgement suggest preparations are under way.

It is not clear whether the three leaders will meet in a formal trilateral format, hold separate bilateral talks, or limit contact to a brief encounter at the summit. What happens in Shenzhen, and whether Ukraine, Iran or denuclearisation are actually discussed, will determine whether the event becomes a substantive diplomatic moment or only a symbolic one.

#Trump #Putin #XiJinping #Shenzhen #trilateralmeeting