Trump Says He Will Meet Xi and Putin Together at APEC in Shenzhen — the First-Ever US-China-Russia Trilateral

November 9, 2026 Faizan Altaf

US President Donald Trump has said he expects to sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the same room next week — a meeting that, if it happens, would be the first-ever trilateral summit between the leaders of the United States, China and Russia.

Trump made the announcement on Sunday, 8 November, telling reporters that one of his meetings at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, would bring all three leaders together. The summit runs on 18 and 19 November, and China is hosting leaders from the forum’s 21 member economies.

“Well, I’m going to be going to China, and one of the meetings I think will be with President Putin and President Xi, and that’ll be interesting,” Trump said.

He added that the talks would cover “a lot of things, including denuclearisation” and efforts to end the war in Iran. “We’re trying to end the war in Iran,” he said.

Beijing has not confirmed the meeting — but it has not ruled it out either. On Monday, 9 November, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China was “in communication with relevant parties” about a meeting between the three presidents. The Kremlin said on 21 October that preparations for a first-of-its-kind trilateral meeting were already under way.

The three leaders have met each other in pairs many times. They have never held formal talks together. That is what makes this moment different.

What Trump said

Trump spoke to reporters on Sunday before flying back to Washington from Florida. He said he would travel to China for the APEC summit and that a three-way meeting was likely on his schedule.

He listed the possible agenda in broad terms: a deal on the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran issue and nuclear arms control. On denuclearisation — reducing the world’s stockpiles of nuclear weapons — he was clear that it would be part of the conversation.

“We’ll talk a lot of things, including denuclearisation, but we’ll be talking a lot of things. We’re trying to end the war in Iran,” Trump said.

It was not the first time Trump had raised the idea. In October, he said he was open to three-way arms control talks with Xi and Putin, focused on denuclearisation. What changed on Sunday is that he put a time and a place on it: next week, in Shenzhen, on the sidelines of APEC.

Trump’s willingness to meet Putin in particular has drawn criticism in the United States. Critics say his engagement with the leaders of Russia and China is too friendly, and that talking to Putin helps end Moscow’s isolation after its full-scale war in Ukraine, which began in 2022. Trump has argued that talking to rivals is the way to end wars.

What Beijing and Moscow have said

China’s response has been careful. Beijing has neither confirmed the meeting nor denied it. On Monday, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said only that China was in communication with the relevant parties about a possible meeting of the three heads of state.

That careful wording matches what Beijing said last week. On Wednesday, 4 November, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “China is maintaining communication with relevant parties on a meeting of the heads of state of China, Russia and the United States.”

The Kremlin has been more direct. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on 3 November that work was under way to organise the meeting and that he hoped it would be finalised in the coming days. On 21 October, the Kremlin said preparations for a first-of-its-kind trilateral meeting were under way.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Putin has pitched using a trilateral meeting to discuss an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine — on terms favourable to Moscow. That detail matters, because it suggests the three leaders may not agree on what the meeting is actually for.

Russia wants to talk about Ukraine. The United States wants to talk about Ukraine, Iran and nuclear weapons. China, meanwhile, has its own priorities — and its own reasons to be cautious.

Why this meeting would be historic

A meeting between the leaders of the United States, China and Russia is not just another summit photo. These are the world’s three largest nuclear-armed powers. Together, they hold the vast majority of the world’s nuclear weapons. They also sit on opposite sides of the two biggest wars of this decade: the war in Ukraine and the war in Iran.

The three leaders have never held formal talks together. They have met in pairs — Trump with Xi, Trump with Putin, Xi with Putin — but never as a trio. A three-way meeting would be a first, and it would signal that even at a time of deep rivalry, the three governments are willing to talk directly about the issues that could affect the whole world.

There is also the setting. APEC is a trade and economic forum, not a security summit. Its members include the United States, China and Russia, along with 18 other Pacific economies. Leaders usually use APEC to talk about trade and supply chains. A trilateral meeting about war and nuclear weapons on the sidelines of an economic summit would be unusual — and that is part of why it has drawn so much attention.

China is hosting this year’s summit in Shenzhen, a southern tech hub. Xi Jinping will be the host, welcoming leaders from across the Pacific. That gives Beijing a central role in any meeting that takes place there.

What would be on the table

Trump named three big issues: the war in Ukraine, the war in Iran and nuclear arms control. Each one is complicated on its own. Together, they cover almost every major security question in the world today.

Nuclear weapons. Trump has said he wants the three countries to talk about denuclearisation — reducing nuclear arsenals. The United States, Russia and China are the world’s three largest nuclear powers. Any serious conversation about limiting nuclear weapons has to include all three. Trump raised the idea in October, saying he was open to three-way arms control talks. But arms control talks are slow, technical and hard. Even agreeing to talk about it would be a step; agreeing on actual cuts would be far harder.

The war in Ukraine. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the war is still going on. Trump has said he wants to end it. According to The Wall Street Journal, Putin wants to use a trilateral meeting to push for a peace deal on terms that favour Moscow. That is a very different goal from what Ukraine and its European allies want. Any discussion of Ukraine without Ukraine at the table would also be controversial — and China has said it sees Ukraine as a European conflict.

The war in Iran. Trump said he is “trying to end the war in Iran”. Tehran, for its part, has said its two-day proposal to the United States is the most reasonable option on the table. The details of that proposal have not been made public, and the fighting continues. A trilateral meeting that includes Russia and China — both of which have ties to Iran — could open a new channel for talking about the war. But it could also complicate things, since the three countries do not agree on Iran.

Why it might not happen — or might be smaller than billed

For all the excitement, the meeting is far from certain. Beijing has not confirmed it. China has not yet decided whether to proceed, according to reports. And even if the three leaders do meet, it may be a brief, informal conversation rather than a formal summit with a joint statement.

Chinese analysts have been playing down expectations. Su Liuqiang, a scholar at the Centre for American Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told state media that Russia was the “most enthusiastic” of the three about a trilateral meeting — and that an informal exchange was likelier than a more structured, formal summit.

“On the one hand, there is substantial political resistance in the U.S. Anti-Russia sentiment remains strong in both the U.S. and among its European allies, with opposition to negotiating with Moscow while bypassing Ukraine and Europe. On the other hand, the three countries have differing priorities,” Su said.

He added that Russia’s core concern is negotiations on a ceasefire in Ukraine, the United States is interested in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and non-proliferation, and China supports peace talks but must also balance its relations with the United States, Russia, Europe and Ukraine.

“In this context, a low-profile trilateral meeting is the more realistic option,” Su said, adding that practical outcomes could emphasise stabilising global energy supplies.

China has also made clear that it prefers multilateralism — working through groups like APEC and the United Nations — over ideas such as a “G2” of the United States and China, or a US-China-Russia triumvirate. Su said a meeting would still be significant, because it would suggest that even as big-power competition continues to define global politics, there is growing interest in managing that competition and stopping it from spinning out of control.

In other words: do not expect a grand bargain in Shenzhen. Expect, at most, a conversation — and even that is not guaranteed.

The bigger picture: a busy month of US-China diplomacy

The possible trilateral is part of a crowded month of diplomacy between Washington and Beijing.

Trump and Xi are also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting next week — their third meeting this year. Trump visited Beijing in May, and Xi travelled to Washington in September. The two leaders are expected to meet once again at the end of the year at the G20 summit in Miami, which would make four meetings in a single year — an unusually high number for the leaders of two rival superpowers.

Both countries have said they want to inject more stability into the relationship and pursue what they call “a constructive relationship of strategic stability”. At the same time, they have continued to clash over trade tariffs, restrictions on semiconductors, rare earth minerals and Taiwan.

That tension is the backdrop to everything in Shenzhen. The United States and China are rivals competing for economic and military influence across Asia and the world. They disagree on trade, on technology and on Taiwan. But they also need each other — on trade, on climate, and on managing the world’s biggest security risks.

What it means for the rest of the world

For countries watching from the sidelines — including Pakistan and the rest of South Asia — a meeting between the three leaders matters for several reasons.

First, energy. Any discussion that touches on stabilising global energy supplies affects oil and gas prices everywhere. Pakistan, which imports most of its energy, feels every swing in global oil prices. Su Liuqiang, the Chinese analyst, specifically pointed to energy supplies as a possible practical outcome of the meeting.

Second, trade. APEC is, at its heart, a trade forum. If the three leaders talk about trade tensions, tariffs or supply chains, the effects ripple through every economy in the Pacific region and beyond.

Third, war and peace. The wars in Ukraine and Iran affect food prices, fuel prices and global security. Any step toward ending them — even a conversation — matters to countries far from the fighting.

And fourth, the example it sets. If the world’s three most powerful leaders can sit down together and talk, even while disagreeing on almost everything, it suggests diplomacy is still possible in a divided world.

What happens next

All eyes are now on Shenzhen. The APEC summit begins on 18 November. In the days before it, expect a stream of statements from Washington, Beijing and Moscow — confirming, denying or carefully avoiding the question of whether the three leaders will meet.

If the meeting happens, the first sign may be a photograph: three leaders in one room, something the world has never seen before. If it does not happen, the story will be about why — and what that says about the limits of diplomacy between rivals.

Either way, the fact that the meeting is being discussed at all is significant. A month ago, a US-China-Russia trilateral summit was barely on anyone’s radar. Now the US president is talking about it openly, the Kremlin says it is being prepared, and Beijing says it is in communication with the relevant parties.

The world will find out next week whether the talk turns into a meeting.

Frequently asked questions

What is APEC?

APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It is a forum of 21 Pacific economies, including the United States, China and Russia, that works on trade and economic cooperation. Its leaders meet once a year. This year’s summit is in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November 2026.

Have Trump, Xi and Putin ever met together before?

No. The three leaders have met each other in pairs, but they have never held formal talks together. A trilateral meeting would be the first of its kind.

What would they talk about?

According to Trump, the agenda could include the war in Ukraine, the war in Iran and nuclear arms control, including denuclearisation. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Putin wants to use the meeting to push for a peace deal in Ukraine on terms favourable to Moscow.

Has China confirmed the meeting?

No. Beijing has said it is “in communication with relevant parties” about a possible meeting, but it has not confirmed that the meeting will take place. China has not yet decided whether to proceed, according to reports.

When will we know for sure?

The APEC summit runs on 18 and 19 November. Confirmation — or a decision not to meet — is likely to come in the days just before or during the summit.

Conclusion

Donald Trump’s announcement that he expects to meet Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin together in Shenzhen has turned next week’s APEC summit into one of the most closely watched diplomatic events of the year. If the meeting happens, it will be the first-ever trilateral summit between the leaders of the United States, China and Russia — three nuclear-armed powers on opposite sides of the world’s biggest wars.

But the meeting is not certain. Beijing has not confirmed it, the three countries disagree on what it should be about, and analysts expect a low-profile, informal exchange at most. The gap between Trump’s confident prediction and Beijing’s careful silence tells its own story: this is diplomacy in progress, not diplomacy completed.

Whatever happens in Shenzhen, the conversation itself matters. The world’s three most powerful leaders are talking about talking — about nuclear weapons, about ending wars, about managing a rivalry that shapes the lives of billions of people.

Sources

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.

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