Shenzhen Three-Way: Beijing Wants the Photo, Putin Wants Ukraine. What Should America Bring Home?
China now says it is "in communication" about a first-ever Xi–Trump–Putin meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen. Nothing is set — and the analysts who follow Beijing closest say the format, not the handshake, will decide who wins.
By Clara Hughes
For the first time, Beijing has publicly confirmed it is discussing a historic meeting of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters that China "is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state," according to the Associated Press, as carried by the Taipei Times. Al Jazeera reported that she made the comment on Wednesday. A day earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "work is under way to coordinate such a meeting," adding, "We hope that it will be finalised in the coming days." As this was written, nothing had been finalized. AP reported that the gathering would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in the southern city of Shenzhen. The South China Morning Post put the summit dates at November 18–19 and described final preparations: construction crews working late into the night about a kilometer from the venues in central Futian district, a freshly repaved road to the newly built Shenzhen International Communication Centre, and lamp posts hung with "Apec China" flags. President Trump