Southeast Asian leaders opened a three-day ASEAN summit in Manila on November 15, beginning a week of high-level meetings that will move to Shenzhen, China, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ gathering. The announced schedule also includes a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of APEC.
The 49th ASEAN Summit and related meetings are scheduled to run from November 15 to 17. China is represented in Manila by Premier Li Qiang, who was expected to meet ASEAN leaders on Monday and leave before Trump arrives, Philippine officials told the Associated Press.
APEC meeting scheduled for Shenzhen
China’s Foreign Ministry said on November 13 that Xi would attend the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Trump is expected to travel to the city after attending the ASEAN gathering in the Philippines, according to reporting on the week’s summit schedule.
The White House and the Kremlin have confirmed plans for Trump, Xi and Putin to meet on November 19 on the APEC sidelines, the Associated Press reported. The meeting has not yet taken place, and no outcome or agreed agenda has been confirmed in the available reporting.
The proposed gathering would bring the leaders of the United States, China and Russia together during a week of regional diplomacy. The Associated Press described the planned meeting as unprecedented and noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.
Regional concerns on the ASEAN agenda
Major conflicts and their effects are among the central concerns at the ASEAN summit, according to the Associated Press. The Manila meetings bring Southeast Asian leaders together before the separate APEC gathering in China, but the available information does not establish what decisions either summit will produce.
The sequence places ASEAN’s regional discussions and the APEC leaders’ meeting in the same week, with the planned Trump-Xi-Putin encounter adding a wider diplomatic dimension. The sources confirm the events and announced travel plans, but do not establish whether the three leaders will ultimately meet as scheduled.