Washington and Moscow press a reluctant Beijing to host the first ever Trump, Putin and Xi summit this month
Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Beijing has so far acknowledged only bilateral contacts ahead of a proposed three-way summit in China this month.
China has not yet given the green light for the three-way meeting, with Beijing acknowledging only bilateral talks with Washington and Moscow separately. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier revealed Xi appeared surprised when asked about the trilateral format during their meeting last week, insisting European nations should have a seat at any Ukraine talks.
Putin is eager for the summit as a diplomatic coup, with Moscow and Washington both pressing Xi to host the unprecedented gathering at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19.
Separately, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced working-level Ukraine-Russia peace talks will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, covering post-war security and de-escalation.
Trump told reporters in October he would join a trilateral 'to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearisation — if President Xi wants to have it, I'd have it.'
