Xi Jinping set for high-stakes meeting with Trump and Putin
Photo: Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his team have begun preparations for talks with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
As the spokesperson notes, both the American leader and the Kremlin chief have publicly expressed interest in meeting with Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The summit will take place later this month in Shenzhen, China.
"China is maintaining communication with relevant parties regarding a potential meeting among Chinese, Russian and US leaders," Mao Ning emphasizes.
Bloomberg notes that this meeting would only help Russia's efforts to emerge from international isolation following its invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, it could potentially turn the Chinese leader into a mediator in bringing Putin and Trump closer together.
"A trilateral summit between China, Russia and the US has no modern precedent. Its closest comparison might be the Yalta Conference in 1945, when Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the reorganization of Europe as Nazi Germany neared defeat in World War II," the agency notes.
Xi Jinping does not plan to discuss Ukraine with Trump and Putin.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also assessed the risk of talks between Trump, Xi, and Putin behind Kyiv's back.
