US and China at odds over format of Trump, Xi and Putin summit

Washington and Beijing disagree on how the proposed meeting of the leaders of the US, China and Russia should be conducted, and the dispute has raised doubts over whether it will take place at all.

The Wall Street Journal reported this on Monday, November 9.

According to the newspaper, Beijing wants a strictly organized trilateral summit at which each leader reads a pre-prepared statement, leaving almost no room for open discussion. The publication cited people involved in preparing the meeting. The Trump administration, in turn, wants a freer format that would allow the three heads of state to talk to each other directly.

The meeting is to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which China is hosting in Shenzhen on Wednesday, November 18, and Thursday, November 19. According to the Journal, Trump said he wants to raise the issue of arms control there — a topic on which Beijing has long refused to negotiate.

The report appeared a day after Trump told journalists he expected the meeting to take place.

“One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi, and it will be interesting,” he said on Sunday.

Trump added that the leaders would discuss “many subjects, including denuclearization” and that “we’re trying to end the war in Iran,” Reuters reports. In October, Trump said he was open to trilateral arms control talks. Later, Putin proposed using the meeting to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, Reuters writes.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last week that Beijing “maintains communication with the relevant parties regarding the meeting of the heads of the three states,” The Independent reports. Neither Beijing nor Moscow has confirmed the summit, South China Morning Post notes. Experts cited by the Taipei Times believe the three leaders are unlikely to discuss anything substantive, but will probably pose for a photo together at a meeting that Beijing will carefully stage-manage.

Analysts believe China has reasons to tightly control the format of the meeting. Alicja Bachulska, in an article for the Lowy Institute, notes that even a joint photo could harm China’s relations with Europe: it would look like support for the idea that the great powers are deciding the future of Ukraine without Europe’s participation. Chinese experts also oppose including China in a single arms control system with the US and Russia. Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University warned that this “risks turning unequal capabilities into formally equal responsibilities,” according to the Lowy Institute material.

The dispute over format reflects this contradiction. Trump is seeking open talks on denuclearization and Iran, while Beijing wants a pre-scripted event where it plays the host but does not have to take part in negotiations it has long avoided.