China supports holding a meeting between Putin, Xi and Trump

Photo: modern.az

Negotiations between the leaders of China, Russia and the United States at the APEC summit are important for the formation of a multipolar world, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told Izvestia. According to him, a trilateral meeting can be "very useful." The Kremlin has confirmed that Vladimir Putin plans to attend the organization's summit, which will be held in November in Shenzhen. Donald Trump is also going to the forum. According to experts, the leaders, if such an opportunity arises, will discuss building a new security system, as well as regional issues such as the Ukrainian conflict and the Taiwan crisis.

Expectations from the trilateral meeting

On November 18-19, 2026, the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit will be held in Shenzhen, China. The participants plan to discuss AI regulation rules, supply stability amid trade disputes, and the economic integration of the region. However, the key event of the forum may be a meeting between Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, in an interview with Izvestia, praised the potential effectiveness of such negotiations.

— I think it's very useful. Because if we can organize such a trilateral meeting, it will be very favorable for the development and formation of a multipolar world. Because Russia, America and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council, they are world powers. The future of this world depends on us," the diplomat stressed.

According to him, Moscow, Beijing and Washington should jointly coordinate any problems in the economy and security, since no state is capable of solving global issues alone.

— All countries should take from us, China and Russia, an example of how to build relations between neighboring states, between large states. And we will work together to contribute to the development of the economy, the global economy, and the maintenance of world peace and stability," Zhang concluded.

In geopolitics, this format is called a large strategic triangle. The idea of such interaction was formulated in the USA back in the 1970s: it is designed to establish a dialogue between the three main world forces to jointly solve global problems. The meeting of the leaders at the APEC summit allows us to directly use this format in order to coordinate positions. In this system, no one can act in isolation. The step of any two participants automatically changes the balance of power, forcing the third to adjust to the new conditions.

What can the leaders of the three states discuss?

If the meeting of the three leaders takes place, the main issue will be the transformation of the global security system and the global order as a whole, believes Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to him, Russia, China and the United States remain the three key players in the world. It is impossible to resolve any crisis without their participation, which even American analysts admit.

Blokhin recalled that during the Cold War, the parties concluded many agreements that remained relevant in the post-Soviet years. However, by now the United States has withdrawn from a number of agreements: the ABM, Open Skies and Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaties. Also in February 2026, the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty (START Treaty) expired. In fact, the world now lives without clear rules of confrontation, therefore, in the conditions of global turbulence, the leaders need to agree on them anew, the expert emphasized.

If a trilateral dialogue becomes possible, then the main achievement will be the very fact of such a meeting, says Ekaterina Zaklyazminskaya, a leading researcher at the Center for World Politics and Strategic Analysis of the ICSA RAS. According to her, the summit can be the first step towards resolving many political disputes. At the same time, the meeting itself develops the idea of the "big two" of the USA and China. Xi Jinping has repeatedly put Beijing's ambitions on a par with Washington's, in fact equating the revival of Great China with Trump's idea of "Make America Great Again." However, the format of the "big two" is not viable due to the growing influence of Russia.

It is also impossible to find a compromise on Taiwan that would suit all three sides, Zaklyazminskaya added. The situation around the island remains part of the long-term U.S. strategy to contain China. Because of this, the parties are unlikely to find a mutually acceptable solution and will only be able to maintain the status quo at most. Nevertheless, in order to prevent escalation, the meeting participants may come to certain unspoken agreements.

The potential summit of the three nuclear powers is attracting attention, since it is Moscow, Beijing and Washington that today bear the main responsibility for the future of the world order and are able to lay the foundation for a new global security architecture. The decisions of these three determine the vectors of development of international relations for decades to come.

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