The Chinese authorities have not confirmed preparations for a potential trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Songkhla, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports regarding preparations for such a contact, citing a lack of information.
Beijing's position: «No information to comment on»
During a briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was asked to comment on the possible meeting of the three leaders. «I currently do not have any information to provide on this matter,» she stated. Thus, official Beijing neither confirmed nor denied preparations for the contact, limiting itself to the formulation that there is no data available for comment.
Putin's initiative and the APEC summit in Shenzhen
According to media reports, the initiative to hold the meeting came from Vladimir Putin: on October 9, during a telephone conversation with Donald Trump, he proposed organizing a contact on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The forum is scheduled for November 18–19 in Shenzhen, China. According to available reports, Putin wanted Xi Jinping to participate in the conversation as well in order to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin's assessment: Possibility acknowledged, agenda undefined
According to the WSJ, the Kremlin acknowledged the possibility of a meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that all three parties acknowledge this possibility, but there is no clear understanding regarding the actual holding of the meeting or its agenda. As of mid-October, no final decision or explicit consent from Washington and Beijing regarding the contact had been recorded.
Kyiv's reaction: Concerns over a format without Ukraine
The Ukrainian side criticized the very idea of a trilateral meeting. According to Kyiv's assessment, such a conversation without Ukraine's participation could encourage Moscow to continue the war, as a format that does not include the direct participant of the conflict fails to provide guarantees for a peaceful settlement.
Context: Previous contacts between Washington and Beijing
It is separately noted that during recent talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the White House, the US and Chinese leaders discussed trade, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and the situation surrounding Iran. Meanwhile, Ukraine and the Russo-Ukrainian war were not separately mentioned in the public part of the meeting, and whether the issue of the war was raised behind closed doors remains unknown. Against this background, the lack of official confirmation from Beijing regarding the trilateral contact at APEC keeps the meeting in the status of a hypothetical scenario rather than a coordinated diplomatic event.
