German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that the war in Ukraine will not be included on the agenda of upcoming talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He announced this following bilateral negotiations with the Chinese leader in Beijing on Friday. According to Steinmeier, Beijing shows no interest in holding a trilateral meeting dedicated to resolving the conflict in Ukraine, and Xi Jinping himself, by his observation, expressed surprise when the German president raised the topic.
Conversation in Beijing: "This is a European Conflict"
Steinmeier recounted that during the talks in Beijing, he proposed to Xi Jinping that they discuss the possibility of holding a summit on Ukraine involving the US, Russia, and China. According to him, the Chinese leader's response delivered a clear position: there are currently no signs of preparations for such a summit. "He clearly emphasized that this is a European conflict, and Europeans must also be present at the negotiating table," Steinmeier conveyed Xi Jinping's words. The German president also noted that surprise could be seen on the Chinese leader's face when he raised the issue of a trilateral settlement. Following the conclusion of the talks, Steinmeier returned to Berlin.
APEC Summit in Shenzhen as a Probable Meeting Venue
At the same time, according to Steinmeier, Xi Jinping's meeting with Trump and Putin will most likely take place within the framework of the upcoming APEC summit in Shenzhen. However, the Ukrainian issue, as follows from the conversation with the Chinese leader, will not be on the agenda of this meeting. Thus, Beijing, in Berlin's assessment, views the APEC summit as a platform for economic and strategic dialogue, but not as a forum to discuss the military conflict in Europe.
Moscow's Position: Ushakov Does Not Rule Out Organizing a Trilateral Meeting
In Russia, the potential trilateral meeting was met with a greater degree of openness. Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov stated that if the US President is also present at the APEC summit, then "the host of this event, Chairman Xi Jinping, will probably take some steps toward possibly organizing a trilateral meeting as well." Thus, the Russian side does not rule out that the format of negotiations could be expanded, although the specific agenda—including the question of including the Ukrainian topic—was not detailed in his statement.
Context: China's Call for "Mutual Concessions" and Kyiv's Assessment
Steinmeier's statement came against the backdrop of Beijing's recent public call for Ukraine and Russia to make "mutual concessions" to achieve peace. This signal, along with Xi Jinping's readiness for contacts with the leaders of the US and Russia, forms a picture in which China positions itself as a potential mediator, while insisting that key decisions on the European conflict must be made with the participation of European countries. In Kyiv, for their part, concern had previously been expressed over a possible scenario in which Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin discuss Ukraine's future behind Kyiv's back. An assessment of the risks of such a format was given by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
What This Means for the Negotiation Track
Steinmeier's statement records an important shift in the diplomatic alignment: China, despite its growing role in international contacts, is not assuming the role of an arbiter in the Ukrainian conflict and is shifting the responsibility for settlement to the European side. For Berlin, this is simultaneously confirmation that Europe cannot remain on the sidelines of the negotiation process, and a signal that Beijing does not intend to use its diplomatic weight to promote a specific peace plan without the participation of European capitals. For Moscow, in turn, the absence of the Ukrainian topic on the APEC agenda means that the key settlement issue has not yet moved to a multilateral platform involving the US and China, keeping the negotiation track in its current, predominantly bilateral format.
