China in contact with Russia and US over possible leaders' meeting at APEC
Beijing says it is talking to Washington and Moscow about a possible Xi, Trump and Putin meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
China says it is in contact with the United States and Russia about a possible meeting between Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, according to a Bloomberg report carried by The Straits Times.
"China is maintaining communication with relevant parties regarding a potential meeting among Chinese, Russian and US leaders," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular briefing in Beijing on November 4. She was responding to a question about whether there were any plans for the three men to meet in Shenzhen.
The Bloomberg report said her comments signalled Beijing's openness to the idea. Trump and Putin have both publicly indicated interest in a sit-down with Xi at the summit.
The South China Morning Post reported that preparations are reportedly under way and that officials from Beijing, Moscow and Washington have been holding serious talks to arrange the meeting. Neither report gave a date or time for it, and Mao's statement referred only to a "potential" meeting.
The two outlets put the emphasis on different parties. Bloomberg said a meeting would be a milestone in Russia's effort to break out of international isolation following its invasion of Ukraine, and could allow Xi to act as mediator between Putin and Trump.
The Post focused on China, reporting that the talks could strengthen Beijing's diplomatic standing. Observers cited by the paper said the different priorities of each power were likely to limit consensus and yield few, if any, concrete concessions.
A summit between the three countries has no modern precedent, Bloomberg reported. It said the closest comparison might be the Yalta Conference of 1945, when Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the reorganisation of Europe as Nazi Germany neared defeat in World War II.
The APEC summit begins in Shenzhen in two weeks.
Sources: The Straits Times, China confirms talks with Russia, US on first trilateral meeting; South China Morning Post, What is the one big thing that could stop Xi, Putin and Trump meeting at Apec?.
