Symbolic imageTrump expects trilateral meeting with Xi and Putin at China summit
Trump said he expects to meet Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin during his trip to China next week. Beijing says only that it is in communication with the parties.
Speaking to reporters on a tarmac on Sunday, 8 November, Trump said one of his meetings in China would be with Putin and Xi, and that they would discuss denuclearization and Iran. He is due at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November. Trump said Washington is "choking off" Iran with a land blockade called Operation Iron Gate and a naval blockade. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow, Beijing and Washington are exchanging proposals on the agenda of a possible meeting.
Iran as the motive
The South China Morning Post cites analysts who say the administration is under pressure to deliver a breakthrough on Iran after the US midterm elections. Chinese observers quoted there see Beijing as a neutral mediator offering a platform, not as a power that would press Tehran into a deal.