Kremlin says work is under way on a first three-way Trump, Putin and Xi summit later this month

American, Chinese and Russian officials are discussing a possible trilateral summit between Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin later this month^1,2. The meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China^7,10. “Work is under way on organising such a meeting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said⁹.

It would be the first trilateral meeting of the three leaders⁴. The three are actively preparing for a possible meeting when they attend the summit in China, according to the reports⁴, and Washington and Moscow are pressing Xi to agree to it¹². The idea builds on talk of a Trump-Putin meeting in China, on which the Kremlin had said there were no precise plans¹⁴.

Signals from Beijing and Moscow

Beijing has said less. One statement referred to Xi and his Russian counterpart Putin but made no mention of a potential trilateral meeting involving Trump⁸. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday that Xi looked bewildered when he was asked about a possible trilateral summit⁶.

The Kremlin, for its part, presented the summit as one of several diplomatic tracks. Alongside its confirmation that Russia will take part in talks with Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi, it said the possibility of talks between Putin, Trump and Xi during the APEC summit is being discussed, and that arrangements could be finalised later¹³.

Why it matters to investors

A meeting of the three leaders, the first of its kind⁴, would come while Washington is already mediating between Russia and Ukraine, a track the Kremlin mentioned in the same breath as the summit¹³. Washington and Moscow are pressing for the meeting, while Beijing has yet to sign on publicly^8,12.

The gap between Moscow’s public confirmation⁹ and Beijing’s silence on the three-way format⁸ is itself a signal. Xi’s reported reaction to the question⁶ suggests China has not yet committed, which leaves the outcome uncertain.

What to watch

The next step is whether Beijing confirms the format, and whether Washington comments publicly on the talks^1,8. The Kremlin has said arrangements are still to be finalised¹³, so the timing and agenda of any meeting remain open¹⁰.