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Trump, Putin and Xi to Hold First-Ever Trilateral Meeting on APEC Sidelines in Shenzhen
By Eleanor Ever Loyal
Photo: Post of Indonesia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
President Donald Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China next week, in what The Hill reported Friday would be the first-ever trilateral meeting involving the three leaders.
Reuters reported Friday, citing the New York Post, that the meeting is set to take place Thursday, Nov. 19, on the sidelines of the annual APEC conference in Shenzhen, China.
The White House has confirmed that a U.S.-China-Russia trilateral meeting is planned on the APEC sidelines, according to reporting Friday by the South China Morning Post, Yonhap and Bernama-Anadolu.
The meeting would bring together the leaders of the United States, Russia and China in a single trilateral setting for the first time, according to The Hill’s Nov. 13 report.
A U.S. official said, according to reports, that Trump plans to discuss Iran when he meets Putin and Xi during the trip. The official said Ukraine would not be part of those trilateral discussions.
No further agenda for the meeting was established in the available reporting, and the reports did not specify what the three leaders might decide or announce after their discussions.
The trilateral meeting is scheduled as Trump travels through Asia for meetings that include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Manila, Philippines, followed by the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Manila on Monday, Nov. 16, for ASEAN meetings before continuing to Shenzhen, China, where he is scheduled to be from Nov. 17 through Nov. 19 for APEC.
The planned meeting with Putin and Xi comes alongside, but separately from, continuing diplomatic contacts concerning Ukraine.
On Nov. 12, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, and later briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin, Ireland. European governments agreed Friday, Nov. 13, to join the next round of those Ukraine talks.
Those discussions constitute a separate diplomatic track from the planned trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin and Xi. The available reporting does not indicate that the Ukraine talks will be folded into the meeting in Shenzhen, and the U.S. official said, according to reports, that Ukraine would not be on the agenda for Trump’s discussions with the Russian and Chinese leaders during the trip.
The planned gathering nevertheless places three of the world’s most consequential leaders at the same APEC summit, with the White House confirmation establishing that a trilateral meeting is expected to occur on its sidelines.
Reuters’ Nov. 13 report, citing the New York Post, placed the meeting on Thursday, Nov. 19. The Hill separately reported that Trump planned to meet both Putin and Xi during the APEC summit and described the gathering as the first trilateral meeting among the three leaders.
The White House confirmation, as reported by the South China Morning Post, Yonhap and Bernama-Anadolu, did not add a detailed public agenda in the facts available for this report.
No statement from Beijing, China, or Moscow, Russia, was included in the available reporting. The facts provided also contained no reaction from either government and no indication of what, if any, agreement could emerge from the meeting.
For now, the confirmed development is the planned trilateral encounter itself: Trump, Putin and Xi are expected to meet on the sidelines of APEC in Shenzhen, with Reuters reporting the date as Nov. 19 and the White House confirming the U.S.-China-Russia trilateral, while a U.S. official said, according to reports, that Iran — but not Ukraine — would be discussed.
Eleanor Ever Loyal
Lead Counsel and National Desk, The Library Media
Update — 6:19 p.m. PT: The White House says President Trump will also raise nuclear arms cuts with Presidents Putin and Xi at Thursday’s trilateral meeting. (The Straits Times, reporting the White House statement, November 13, 2026.)
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