Trump says he expects to meet Xi and Putin at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week, with Iran and denuclearisation on the table

President Donald Trump said on Sunday he thinks he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an APEC leaders’ summit in China^1,3. He said the meeting would come next week^2,4. “One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi. And that’ll be interesting,” Trump told reporters^7,12.

Trump said he would possibly meet the two leaders to discuss “denuclearisation” and how to end the war⁶. Other accounts said the talks could cover ending the war on Iran and nuclear disarmament^7,8. Trump also said he would travel to China next week¹¹.

The meeting would take place on the fringes of a summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen¹⁴. Trump has said he will likely meet the two leaders, which would be a rare meeting of the US, Chinese and Russian heads of state¹⁰.

Why it matters to investors

Trump has said the Iran war could be among the topics, raising the question of whether Xi and Putin can offer him an exit from the conflict^7,12. He has also put nuclear disarmament on the list for a possible meeting with the two leaders^6,8.

Ukraine is also in view. Ahead of the proposed trilateral summit, Trump said Ukraine will have a “different shape” after the war^14,16. One analysis has asked whether Trump, Putin and Xi will carve out a new map of Europe at the meeting¹³.

Other leaders will also seek time with Trump at APEC. Albanese is set to come face to face with the US president as Trump sets off on a run of summits¹⁵. At APEC, Trump intends to meet Xi and Putin in what has been called a potentially historic meeting¹⁵.

What to watch

Trump’s own wording leaves the meeting unconfirmed: he said he thinks it will happen and that he may meet the two leaders^3,8. The first marker is whether all three leaders are present in Shenzhen and whether a joint session takes place^10,14.

The second marker is the agenda. Trump has named denuclearisation and the Iran war, and his remarks on Ukraine’s “different shape” point to that war as a further topic^6,8,16.

The talks would come as fighting continues in Ukraine. Russia said it hit power substations in Ukraine and three ships in the Black Sea¹.