Beijing has officially confirmed that the Chinese side has initiated preparations for a potential meeting between the leaders of China, the US, and Russia. This was stated at a briefing by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, whose remarks were reported by RBC-Ukraine citing Bloomberg. According to her, both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have publicly expressed interest in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, expected to take place this month in Shenzhen, China. "China is in communication with relevant parties regarding a possible meeting of the leaders of China, Russia, and USA," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized.
Negotiation Format and Timeline
According to Mao Ning's statement, this is not yet an agreed-upon date, but an ongoing working contact between the agencies of the three countries. It is only confirmed that both sides — Washington and Moscow — have expressed a public readiness for a personal meeting with the Chinese leader at the APEC venue. The Shenzhen summit is emerging as a window of opportunity in which, according to Beijing, a format for high-level trilateral dialogue could be shaped. Thus, at present, the start of preparatory negotiations has been recorded, rather than the scheduling of a specific meeting.
What This Means for Russia and China's Role
Bloomberg draws attention to two key consequences of the potential summit. First, such a meeting could assist Russia's efforts to break out of the international isolation it has faced since the invasion of Ukraine. Second, it has the potential to turn the Chinese President into a mediator helping to bridge the positions of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. For Beijing, this opens an opportunity to act as an arbiter in the triangulation of relations between the two largest nuclear powers, strengthening its diplomatic weight in the international system.
Historical Parallels
Bloomberg emphasizes that a trilateral summit between China, Russia, and the US has no direct analogues in modern history. The publication compares it closest to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the leaders of the three powers — the USSR, the US, and Great Britain — discussed key issues of the post-war order. This parallel underscores the symbolic and political significance of the potential meeting in Shenzhen, which, according to Western observers, could become a turning point in the architecture of global diplomacy.
The Ukraine Issue and Kyiv's Reaction
At the same time, RBC-Ukraine previously reported that Xi Jinping does not plan to bring up the Ukrainian topic in discussions with Trump and Putin. This means that even if the meeting takes place, its agenda will likely focus on other areas of bilateral and multilateral relations. Kyiv is separately monitoring the risks that negotiations between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow might be conducted without taking Ukraine's position into account. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously assessed the risks of such contacts "behind Kyiv's back," indicating heightened attention from the Ukrainian side to the format and content of the potential trilateral dialogue.
