Rubio and Wang Yi speak ahead of Trump's China trip, with a three-way meeting with Putin in play

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone on Wednesday, November 11, a week before President Donald Trump is due in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The State Department said the call was held at China’s request and covered Trump’s trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Florida for the G20 summit next month, and a possible three-way meeting with Russia.

The two governments described the conversation differently. Washington put peace and denuclearisation at its centre; Beijing’s account did not mention either.

What each side says

In the American readout, Rubio and Wang recalled their leaders’ commitment to a “constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness, and reciprocity”. The two agreed on “the importance of leader-level conversations” in advancing goals such as peace and denuclearisation, including at a possible trilateral meeting with Russia.

China’s foreign ministry called the call “positive and constructive”. Wang said Xi’s September visit to the United States had been smooth and successful, and that the present stability in relations “had not come easily”. In China’s account he called it “a rational choice made by the two major countries based on respective and shared interests”, and said China’s policy toward the US “will remain stable and consistent”. Beijing said it is willing to support the hosting of the APEC leaders’ informal meeting and the G20 summit. It did not mention denuclearisation or Russia.

How the three-way idea took shape

The idea of a Trump, Xi and Putin meeting has been building for weeks. In October Trump said he was open to three-way arms control talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 18 that the US had proposed a three-way summit with Putin. On November 3, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was “a certain exchange of signals confirming readiness to hold such a meeting”, and that China, as host, had the leading role in preparing it.

On Sunday, November 8, Trump said he thought he would meet Putin and Xi in Shenzhen to talk about ending the war in Iran and about denuclearisation. Beijing’s reply the next day was cautious: its foreign ministry said it was in communication with the relevant parties but did not confirm a meeting. On Tuesday, November 10, Rubio told reporters that work was under way to arrange a trilateral on the margins of APEC. Putin was reported to have proposed a trilateral meeting on ending the war in Ukraine.

Where Beijing has held back

The gap in the two readouts reflects a position China stated last month. Its foreign ministry said then that its nuclear strength is not at the level of the United States and Russia, and called trilateral nuclear disarmament talks “neither fair, reasonable nor realistic” for now. Trump had said in October that the US was already in denuclearisation talks with Russia and China and that Beijing could catch up with the two biggest nuclear powers within five years, but gave no details.

Trade is the other thread. In September the two sides agreed in Washington to extend a trade truce by two months, a truce that had been due to expire in November. Disputes over tariffs, Chinese purchases of American goods, rare earth exports and technology restrictions are still unresolved. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the two sides would move ahead with new talks on artificial intelligence, but that they should not expect to settle their differences.

Why it matters to India

India is not an APEC member and will not be in Shenzhen, but the agenda touches its household and national accounts. The Iran war and the shipping risk in the Gulf have kept oil dear: India spent $90.6 billion on crude imports from April to September, 46.3% more than a year earlier, according to oil ministry data. A settlement of the Iran and Ukraine wars would bear directly on that bill and on the question of whether Washington keeps in place its waiver on tariffs for buyers of Russian oil.

A calmer US-China relationship also matters for Indian exporters and for markets. The rupee, at about ₹94 to the dollar this week, and foreign investors’ November buying of Indian shares both respond to the global mood on trade and oil.

What happens next

The APEC leaders’ summit opens in Shenzhen on November 18, and runs to November 19. Neither Beijing nor the Kremlin has confirmed a three-way meeting; the signal to watch is a formal announcement from the Chinese foreign ministry, the White House or the Kremlin in the next few days. Xi’s trip to Florida for the G20 summit follows next month.