China confirmed on Wednesday, November 4, that it is in communication with the relevant parties about a possible meeting of the heads of state of China, Russia and the United States — a first-ever joint meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump that could take place on the sidelines of this month's APEC summit in Shenzhen. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the comment at a regular press conference in Beijing, according to reports by the official Xinhua agency and AFP, stopping short of confirming that a three-way meeting will take place.

Source: Xinhua / AFP via QNC News

Mao was responding to a Financial Times report that officials from the three countries were coordinating arrangements for such a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Shenzhen, in southeastern China, on November 18-19, the Global Times reported, in an account carried by MCI. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Financial Times that work is already under way to organise such a meeting, without giving details of its format or agenda.

Source: Global Times via MCI

18-19 NovDates of the APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen, where the three-way meeting could be held
21Member economies of APEC whose leaders and representatives Xi Jinping will host
3Leaders — Xi, Putin and Trump — who have met in pairs but have never held a joint meeting
9 OctDate of the telephone call in which Putin proposed the idea to Trump, according to reports

What is — and is not — confirmed

Mao said only that China maintains communication with the relevant parties about a meeting of the leaders; Beijing has not confirmed the meeting will happen, and no agreed agenda or commitments from the three leaders have been announced. It remains unclear whether officials are coordinating a single joint meeting or a series of bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit, and the White House had not commented on the trilateral proposal when approached by the Financial Times, QNC News reported, summarising Xinhua and AFP.

Source: Xinhua / AFP via QNC News

Xi will host leaders and representatives from APEC's 21 member economies, including Trump and Putin. Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen and to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi, which would be their third meeting this year, and a separate meeting between Xi and Putin is also being considered, according to the same reporting.

Source: Xinhua / AFP via QNC News

What is solid

  • China's Foreign Ministry confirmed on November 4 that Beijing is in communication with relevant parties about a possible China-Russia-US heads-of-state meeting, Xinhua and AFP reported
  • The Financial Times reported officials were coordinating arrangements for a meeting around the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the FT that work on organising such a meeting is under way
  • The three leaders have never held a joint meeting before, although they have met in pairs

What is only claimed

  • Whether a single joint meeting will actually take place — Beijing has confirmed only communication, not the meeting, its format or its agenda
  • Whether Ukraine would be on the agenda: Putin proposed the idea in an October 9 call with Trump with the aim of discussing an end to the war, reports say, but Sweden Herald noted it is unclear whether a possible meeting would address the war

How Beijing's line has moved

This is a shift from Beijing's position last month. When Trump first voiced openness to a three-way meeting in October, China's Foreign Ministry said it had no information to provide about the proposal. That earlier development was reported here: Trump open to meeting Putin and Xi in China (October)

It also follows a conflicting signal days ago: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi told him on October 30 that there was absolutely no preparation under way for a Ukraine summit involving the US, Russia and China, and that Xi insisted Ukraine is a European conflict in which Europeans would also have to be at the negotiating table. Mao's confirmation of communication on Wednesday does not say the meeting would be a Ukraine summit — and Beijing has previously said it would be neither fair, reasonable nor realistic to ask China to join three-way nuclear disarmament talks at this stage.

Source: US Daily Report / QNC News

The Steinmeier account of Xi's position was reported earlier here: Xi told Steinmeier: no preparation for a Ukraine trilateral summit

Same briefing: midterms are 'an internal affair'

At the same Wednesday briefing, asked about the US midterm elections — in which the Democratic Party secured a majority in both chambers of Congress — Mao said the elections are an internal affair of the United States and that China does not comment on the outcomes. She added that China is willing to continue to uphold and implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and reaffirmed a 'constructive strategic stability relationship' based on mutual respect and fairness, Aju Press reported from the briefing. That framework was agreed in May and reaffirmed in September, the report said.

Source: Aju Press

What happens next

The next markers are whether Washington comments — the White House had not responded to the FT when it was approached — and whether a joint meeting, rather than parallel bilaterals, is announced before the Shenzhen summit opens on November 18. Sweden Herald, reporting AFP, noted the talks come amid increasingly intensive efforts to reach a peace settlement in Ukraine, but any agenda remains unconfirmed.

Source: AFP via Sweden Herald