Xi, Trump and Putin Could Meet in Shenzhen: China Confirms Talks on Historic Three-Way Summit

China has confirmed for the first time that it is discussing a meeting between the leaders of China, the United States and Russia — a three-way summit that, if it happens, would bring Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin together in the same room for the first time.

The meeting could take place later this month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city hosting this year’s gathering of leaders from 21 Pacific economies. Nothing has been agreed yet. But the fact that Beijing is now talking about it openly, after weeks of quiet diplomacy behind closed doors, has made it one of the most watched diplomatic stories in the world.

What Beijing actually said

The confirmation came on Wednesday, 4 November, at a regular press briefing in Beijing. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, was asked about reports that the three countries were arranging a trilateral meeting. Her answer was short, and carefully worded.

“China is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state,” Mao said.

She did not say the meeting would definitely happen, and she gave no date, no venue and no agenda. But the statement mattered because, until then, Beijing had avoided saying anything in public about a three-leader meeting at all. The Associated Press described the confirmation as a first.

A day earlier, the Kremlin had been more direct. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for President Putin, told the Financial Times on Tuesday, 3 November, that “work is under way on organizing such a meeting”. The newspaper reported that officials from the three countries had been holding secret talks about the summit for two weeks.

Putin and Xi are already expected to meet in Shenzhen on 18 November, during Putin’s visit for the APEC summit, according to Peskov. Trump is also expected to travel to Shenzhen for the summit, which runs on 18 and 19 November. Whether the three men sit down together as a group is the question now being negotiated.

How the idea came about

The idea of a three-way meeting was first raised by Putin himself. According to reports, he proposed it during a phone call with Trump on 9 October, suggesting the three leaders discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

Putin repeated the idea publicly on 21 October, saying he was in favour of a joint meeting with Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit. The Kremlin then began working on the arrangements, and the Financial Times reported on 3 November that officials from all three countries had been in quiet contact for about two weeks.

Trump, for his part, has said he would be interested in meeting Xi and Putin to discuss nuclear arms control — the rules that limit the world’s biggest nuclear arsenals. Putin, by contrast, is focused on talking about the war in Ukraine, and on doing so without Ukraine at the table. That difference in priorities is one reason the format and the agenda are still being negotiated.

On Saturday, 7 November, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine both want to reach a settlement, in comments reported by Reuters. It was the latest in a series of public statements from the American president suggesting that a deal to end the war may be closer than it has been for some time — although no deal has been announced, and the fighting continues.

Why Shenzhen, and why now

Shenzhen is not a random choice. China is hosting this year’s APEC leaders’ summit, and the city in southern China was chosen as the venue. APEC is a grouping of 21 member economies around the Pacific, and it includes the United States, China and Russia. That makes it one of the few international gatherings where all three leaders are expected to be in the same place at the same time.

The timing also matters. Trump is expected to meet Xi in Shenzhen for the third time this year, and the two men are trying to hold together a fragile trade truce between the world’s two biggest economies. That truce is set to expire in January, and there are signs of strain. On Friday, the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, held a video call with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and urged Beijing to take “concrete actions to fully implement its past commitments, particularly as they relate to agricultural purchases, rare earths, and other critical minerals”, according to a statement from Greer’s office.

Rare earths — the minerals used in everything from electric cars to fighter jets — have become one of the sharpest points of tension between Washington and Beijing. The United States is pressing China to keep supplying them, while China has used export controls as leverage in the trade dispute. The APEC meeting is a chance for the two leaders to talk about that face to face, whether or not Putin joins them.

For Putin, the appeal of a three-way meeting is obvious. Since the invasion of Ukraine, he has been treated as a pariah by many Western governments. A photograph of him sitting as an equal alongside the American and Chinese presidents would be a diplomatic prize — a sign that Russia is back at the top table of world politics.

“Putin has the most to gain from a leaders’ trilateral, and the Russians are clearly behind the push for a meeting, which would be a diplomatic coup,” said Danny Russel, a former senior US State Department official who is now a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

What the experts say: a photo, or a breakthrough?

Most experts who follow the three countries are cautious about what a meeting could actually achieve. The three leaders have very different goals, and on the biggest questions — Ukraine, trade, nuclear weapons — their interests are often directly opposed.

“I think it will happen. The question is the format and the content,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank. “China wants the image but not the costs.”

Sun added that Russia would probably use the summit to push China and the United States closer to Moscow’s positions on Ukraine, while “China will have to manage Russian manipulation”. She also said China would not want to get drawn into talks about arms control, Ukraine or Iran, beyond its usual position that peace is important and wars should end.

Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was even more sceptical. He said the meeting might amount to no more than a photo opportunity that would let Putin be seen next to the American and Chinese leaders. “But these photo opportunities have diminishing diplomatic returns,” he said. “The spectacle may be historic without producing anything particularly consequential.”

That view is widely shared. The Associated Press, reporting on Beijing’s confirmation, noted that experts say the three leaders are unlikely to discuss anything substantive, because their interests are at odds — but that they would gather for a photograph, with China carefully choreographing the meeting.

There is also a risk for Beijing. A picture of the three leaders together could be read around the world as three great powers carving up the world between them, at a time when smaller countries are already worried about being ignored. Sun Yun warned that the summit “should not be equated to three great powers dividing up the world” — a sign that China is aware of how the image could be interpreted.

Why a meeting of three matters

Even if nothing is agreed, a meeting of the three leaders would be a remarkable event. The three countries hold most of the world’s nuclear weapons between them. They are the three largest military spenders. And they are on opposite sides of the two biggest conflicts shaping world politics today: the war in Ukraine, and the trade and technology rivalry between the United States and China.

No meeting of the three leaders together has ever happened before. Bilateral summits — Xi with Putin, Trump with Xi, Trump with Putin — are regular events. But a three-way format is new, and that is why it is being described as historic.

For Ukraine, the stakes are high. Kyiv has made it clear that it does not want its future decided in talks it is not part of. If Putin succeeds in getting Trump and Xi to discuss Ukraine without President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the table, it would be a major win for Moscow. Zelenskyy warned this week that Russia is preparing new attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, bridges and civilian infrastructure — a reminder that the war is still being fought hard on the ground while the diplomacy goes on.

For the rest of the world, the meeting matters because of what the three countries control. The United States and China are the two largest economies, and their trade dispute affects prices and jobs everywhere. Russia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of oil, gas and grain. When the three leaders talk, markets listen — even when they only talk about talking.

What it means for Pakistan

Pakistan will be watching the Shenzhen summit closely, for two reasons.

The first is trade. Pakistan’s economy is tied to both the United States and China, and a breakdown in relations between the two biggest economies makes life harder for every country that trades with them. A stable truce between Washington and Beijing — and steady supplies of the minerals and goods that flow between them — matters far beyond the two capitals.

The second is the war in Ukraine. The conflict has pushed up the price of energy and food around the world, and Pakistan, which imports much of its fuel and wheat, has felt that pressure directly. Any serious move towards a settlement would be good news for countries like Pakistan that have paid the price of a distant war through higher import bills.

None of that will be decided in Shenzhen, and Pakistan will not be at the table. But the direction of travel between the three leaders — towards cooperation or towards confrontation — will shape the world Pakistan has to trade, borrow and do business in.

What happens next

The next few days will be decisive. Peskov said he hoped the arrangements for the trilateral meeting would be finalised within days of his comments on 3 November. The White House had not commented on the proposal when it was approached by the Financial Times.

If the meeting is confirmed, the world will learn the format: a formal three-way summit, or a shorter pull-aside conversation on the margins of APEC; a joint statement, or simply a photograph. If it is not confirmed, the leaders will still meet in pairs in Shenzhen — Xi with Putin, Trump with Xi — and the idea of a trilateral will go back on the shelf.

Either way, the APEC summit on 18 and 19 November is now about much more than trade. It is the stage for a diplomatic experiment that has never been tried before: three of the most powerful men in the world, in one room, at a moment when the wars and rivalries between their countries are still unresolved.

Frequently asked questions

What is the proposed Xi-Trump-Putin meeting?

China has confirmed it is discussing a meeting between President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin, possibly on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18–19 November 2026. It would be the first time the three leaders have met together.

Has the meeting been confirmed?

No. Beijing has only confirmed that it is “in communication with relevant parties” about a meeting. The Kremlin says work is under way to organise it, but the format, agenda and timing have not been agreed, and the White House has not commented.

Why would the meeting take place in Shenzhen?

China is hosting this year’s APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen on 18–19 November. APEC is a 21-member grouping that includes the United States, China and Russia, so all three leaders are expected to be there.

What would the leaders discuss?

That is still unclear. Putin wants to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump has said he would like to discuss nuclear arms control. Experts say the three leaders are unlikely to agree on anything substantive, because their interests are at odds, and the meeting may be little more than a photo opportunity.

Who proposed the meeting?

The idea was first raised by President Putin, who proposed a trilateral meeting during a phone call with President Trump on 9 October, and repeated the suggestion publicly on 21 October.

Why does the meeting matter?

The three countries hold most of the world’s nuclear weapons and are on opposite sides of the biggest conflicts in world politics. A meeting of the three together has never happened before, and even a photograph of them sitting together would be a major diplomatic moment — especially for Putin, who has been isolated by many Western governments since the invasion of Ukraine.

Conclusion

The confirmation from Beijing is a small step, but a significant one. For the first time, China has said in public that it is talking to the United States and Russia about bringing the three leaders together. The Kremlin is pushing hard for it. The White House has yet to say a word.

What happens in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November will tell the world something important about where the three great powers stand — whether they are ready to talk to each other, even when they disagree, or whether the idea of a three-way summit was always more about the photograph than the outcome.

The experts are right to be sceptical. A single meeting will not end the war in Ukraine, settle the trade dispute between the United States and China, or bring the world’s nuclear arsenals under control. But it would be the first time the three men who control those arsenals, those economies and those wars have sat down together. In a world as divided as this one, that alone would be news.

Sources

• The Associated Press (via KCAU 9), “China confirms discussions are underway on a historic Xi-Trump-Putin meeting”, 6 November 2026: https://www.kcau9.com/news/politics/ap-china-confirms-discussions-are-underway-on-a-historic-xi-trump-putin-meeting/
• The Guardian (via Europe Says), “Ukraine war briefing: Beijing confirms historic Xi-Trump-Putin meeting under discussion”, 7 November 2026: https://www.europesays.com/russia/85970/
• The Istanbul Post, “China discussing possible meeting between Xi, Putin, Trump, says Beijing”, 4 November 2026: https://theistanbulpost.com/china-discussing-possible-meeting-between-xi-putin-trump-says-beijing/
• AnewZ, “Trump on Ukraine peace as China explores Xi-Putin summit”, 7 November 2026: https://anewz.tv/world/world-news/26405/trump-on-ukraine-peace-as-china-explores-xi-putin-summit/news
• Demócrata, “China explores a trilateral summit at APEC”, 4 November 2026: https://www.democrata.es/en/international/china-allows-contacts-with-the-us-and-russia-for-a-possible-three-way-summit-at-the-apec-in-shenzhen/
• The Bay, “Xi and Putin to meet in Shenzhen as Trump trilateral discussed”, 4 November 2026: https://thebay.mo/beyond-the-bay/mainland-china/xi-putin-shenzhen-meeting-trump-trilateral-discussed/

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