WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he thinks he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in China next week, in what would be the first formal three-way meeting of the three leaders. Speaking to reporters before flying back to Washington from Florida on 8 November 2026, Trump said the encounter in Shenzhen on 18–19 November would cover denuclearization and efforts to end the war in Iran. The meeting itself has not been confirmed: Beijing has said only that it is in communication with the relevant parties, and no final decision has been announced.
Illustration: An artist's illustration of Presidents Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen. The three leaders have never held formal talks together.
What Happened
Trump made the remarks on Sunday 8 November, speaking to reporters before boarding a flight back to Washington from Florida, according to Reuters. Asked about the APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen, the US president said he expected to sit down with both Xi and Putin on the sidelines of the gathering, which runs from 18 to 19 November.
"One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi, and that'll be interesting. We're talking a lot of things, including denuclearization, but we'll be talking a lot of things. We're trying to end the war in Iran," Trump said, according to Reuters.
The comment was the most direct statement yet from Trump that he expects the three-way meeting to take place. It came just days after Beijing gave its first public acknowledgement that such a meeting was under discussion. On 4 November, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing "is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state," without confirming that the meeting would happen; no final decision has been announced.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 3 November that work was under way to organise the meeting. Trump is also expected to meet Xi separately in Shenzhen — their third meeting this year — against the backdrop of a fragile trade truce between the United States and China that is set to expire in January.
Trump has spoken before about three-way arms control talks. In October, he said he was open to a trilateral discussion with Xi and Putin focused on denuclearization, the process of reducing nuclear arsenals. His remarks on Sunday went further, suggesting the APEC summit could be the venue where that conversation finally begins in person.
The Wall Street Journal later reported that Putin had pitched using a trilateral meeting to discuss an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes that he believes "we're very close to making a deal" to end the war, one that would result in a "little bit different shape Ukraine," without offering specifics. It is not clear whether Ukraine will be on the agenda if the three leaders do meet in Shenzhen.
Analysts have sounded a cautious note: some say the gathering may amount to little more than a photo opportunity, with little prospect of substantive agreements on the most difficult issues. Others note that even a brief three-way encounter would carry symbolic weight, given that the three leaders have never met together in a formal setting.
Background
The idea began with a proposal from Moscow. Putin first proposed the trilateral encounter to Trump during a phone call on 9 October, according to reporting on the initiative, aiming to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine on terms favourable to Russia. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on 25 October that preparations had begun and that the three countries were "in principle ready" for the meeting to take place.
This article reports a new development, and it should not be confused with earlier coverage. On 20 October 2026, World News Daily Hub published post #85, "Putin Proposes Trilateral Summit With Trump and Xi," which reported the original proposal from the Russian president. The news here is different: Trump's own statement on 8 November that he expects the meeting to happen at the APEC summit, together with Beijing's first public confirmation on 4 November that talks about the meeting are under way.
Two other recent posts touched on related events but are distinct. Post #824, published on 5 November 2026 about the White House visit by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, mentioned APEC summit preparations only as background context. Post #854, published on 6 November 2026, covered a separate White House meeting on Russia-Ukraine peace efforts involving First Lady Melania Trump. Neither reported Trump's expectation of a three-way meeting in Shenzhen, which is the news reported here.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi had told him the three presidents would probably meet in Shenzhen, but that Ukraine would not be on the agenda — Xi, according to Steinmeier, described the war in Ukraine as a European conflict. That account sits uneasily with the Wall Street Journal's report that Putin wants the meeting to address an end to the war, and it underlines how little has been settled about what the three leaders would discuss.
The three men know each other well in pairs. Trump and Xi have met twice already this year, and Shenzhen would be their third encounter of 2026; Trump and Putin have also met and spoken repeatedly. But the three leaders have never held formal talks together as a trio. A three-way encounter in Shenzhen would therefore be a first.
APEC brings together 21 member economies from around the Pacific Rim, and China is hosting this year's leaders' summit in Shenzhen, the technology hub across the border from Hong Kong. Xi, as host, will chair the gathering. The summit's formal agenda is trade and economic cooperation, but leaders' meetings on the sidelines have often produced the most consequential diplomacy of the week.
Illustration: An artist's illustration of Shenzhen, the Chinese city hosting the APEC leaders' summit on 18–19 November 2026.
Why It Matters
A meeting would bring together the presidents of the United States, China and Russia — the world's three largest nuclear-armed powers — at a moment when relations among all three are strained. The United States and China are locked in a trade confrontation that has been paused, rather than resolved, by a fragile truce. The United States and Russia remain divided over the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. China and Russia, meanwhile, have drawn closer even as both have clashed with Washington.
Denuclearization is the subject Trump put at the centre of his remarks, and one of the few areas where the three countries' interests might overlap. The United States and Russia hold the world's largest nuclear arsenals by far, while China's stockpile, though smaller, has been growing. Existing arms control agreements between Washington and Moscow have lapsed or been suspended, and there has never been a three-way nuclear arms agreement. Trump said in October that he was open to three-way talks. Even so, analysts caution that a single sideline meeting is unlikely to produce a detailed arms agreement; any serious negotiation would take months or years.
Ukraine is the most sensitive question hanging over the proposed meeting. Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes that he believes a deal to end the war is close, and that it would leave Ukraine in a "little bit different shape," without explaining what he meant. The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin pitched the trilateral meeting as a venue for discussing an end to the war. But Xi, according to the German president, has said Ukraine would not be discussed, calling it a European conflict. Those accounts cannot all be reconciled.
The trade truce between the United States and China adds urgency. Trump is expected to meet Xi separately in Shenzhen, their third meeting this year, with the fragile pause in the two countries' tariff confrontation set to expire in January. A three-way meeting that goes well could create momentum for that bilateral conversation; one that goes badly could complicate it. For Beijing, hosting the summit — and potentially the first-ever meeting of the three leaders — is also a matter of prestige, a chance to present China as a convening power.
There is also the question of what the meeting would mean for the other countries at the summit. APEC's 21 member economies include American allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada, as well as countries across South-East Asia and Latin America. A three-way encounter could overshadow the summit's formal business, and some governments may worry that decisions affecting them could be discussed over their heads — though many members would welcome any sign that the three powers are talking rather than drifting further apart.
Illustration: An artist's illustration of a globe at a negotiation table, representing the denuclearization talks President Trump says he wants to raise with Xi and Putin.
What Happens Next
The summit takes place in Shenzhen on 18–19 November, and the days before it will be decisive. The three governments have not confirmed that the three-way meeting will happen, and officials in Washington, Beijing and Moscow will need to agree on the format, timing and agenda before it can be announced. Watch for statements from the White House, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin in the coming days.
Several questions will determine whether the encounter amounts to more than a photograph. The first is whether Ukraine is on the agenda: if Putin wants to discuss ending the war and Xi does not, the three sides will need to resolve that disagreement before they sit down. The second is whether denuclearization moves beyond a general statement of intent — Trump has raised the subject twice, but no details of a proposal have been made public. The third is the separate Trump–Xi meeting, and whether the trade truce expiring in January is extended or allowed to lapse.
Even if the meeting goes ahead, expectations should be measured. Analysts say it may be mostly a photo opportunity, with little prospect of substantive agreements in a single sitting. But a first-ever formal meeting would still be notable, and the language the leaders use afterwards — in a joint statement, in separate remarks, or in silence — will be closely read for signs of where the three powers' relationship is heading.
If the meeting does not happen, the summit will still be closely watched. Trump's separate meeting with Xi, and any encounter between Trump and Putin on the sidelines, would each matter in its own right. The coming week will show whether the three leaders' schedules converge in Shenzhen, or whether the first-ever trilateral remains an idea rather than an event.
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FAQ
Will Trump, Xi and Putin definitely meet at the APEC summit?
No — the meeting has not been confirmed. Trump said on 8 November that he thinks it will happen, China's Foreign Ministry said on 4 November that Beijing is in communication with the relevant parties, and the Kremlin said on 3 November that work to organise it is under way. No final decision has been announced.
When and where is the APEC summit?
The APEC leaders' summit takes place in Shenzhen, China, on 18–19 November 2026. APEC has 21 member economies, and Xi Jinping is hosting as China's president.
What would the three leaders discuss?
According to Trump, it would include denuclearization and efforts to end the war in Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin pitched the meeting as a venue for discussing an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, although German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi told him Ukraine would not be discussed. The agenda has not been settled.
Have the three leaders ever met together before?
No. Trump, Xi and Putin have met each other separately, but never held formal talks together as a trio. A meeting in Shenzhen would be the first of its kind.
How is this different from the earlier report that Putin proposed a trilateral summit?
Post #85 on 20 October 2026 reported Putin's proposal, made in a phone call with Trump on 9 October. This article reports what happened next: Trump's statement on 8 November that he expects the meeting at the APEC summit, and Beijing's first public confirmation on 4 November that talks are under way. Posts #824 and #854 covered different events — a Russian envoy's White House visit and a separate White House peace meeting — and neither reported the expected Shenzhen meeting.
Sources
- Reuters — "Trump thinks he will meet Xi and Putin at China APEC summit" (9 November 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-thinks-he-will-meet-xi-putin-china-apec-summit-2026-11-09/
- Political.org — "China Confirms Talks Underway on Possible Xi-Trump-Putin Meeting at Shenzhen APEC Summit" (6 November 2026): https://political.org/2026/11/06/china-confirms-talks-underway-on-possible-xi-trump-putin-meeting-at-shenzhen-apec-summit/
- Magna Bureau — reporting on the possible Trump–Xi–Putin summit: https://magnabureau.space/article-trump-xi-putin-summit-could-mean
- BlackSky — "Europe at the Table or on the Menu: Putin, Trump, Xi": https://www.blacksky.info/en/europe-at-the-table-or-on-the-menu-putin-trump-xi/
- Phoenix Browser — reporting on the proposed trilateral meeting: https://phoenix-browser.com/I2Gcw8QH7Ct
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