Key Facts

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will likely meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a rare trilateral leaders' meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Shenzhen, China, on 18-19 November. Beijing said it was 'in communication with relevant parties' over the meeting. Trump indicated a deal on the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran issue, and nuclear arms control, including denuclearisation, would be on the agenda, and will meet Xi bilaterally for the third time this year, following his visit to Beijing in May and Xi's visit to Washington in September.

GK Context

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), established in 1989, is a 21-member regional economic forum promoting free trade and economic cooperation across the Pacific Rim, with India notably not a member (though it has sought membership). The annual APEC Leaders' Summit, held in a rotating host economy, often becomes a venue for high-level bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagements beyond its formal trade agenda, as illustrated by the proposed Trump-Xi-Putin trilateral. 'Denuclearisation' in this context refers to arms control negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons capabilities, a recurring theme in U.S.-Russia strategic dialogue.