Rubio and Wang Yi back leader-level talks on peace and denuclearization, raising a possible Trump-Xi-Putin summit at APEC

Rubio and Wang Yi back leader-level talks on peace and denuclearization, raising a possible Trump-Xi-Putin summit at APEC.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed on Wednesday on the importance of leader-level talks to advance peace and denuclearization, "including at any potential trilateral leaders meeting with Russia," the State Department said.

According to the U.S. readout, China requested the call. The two discussed President Donald Trump's trip next week to the APEC summit in China and Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned visit to Florida for the G20 summit in December. They also recalled their leaders' commitment to a "constructive relationship of strategic stability."

Beijing's version was notably different. Xinhua called the call "positive and constructive," and China's Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as seeking "tangible progress" in relations and pledging to "properly handle differences and sensitive issues," Reuters and Anadolu reported. Neither Chinese account mentioned denuclearization or a summit with Russia.

The gap matters. Rubio said Tuesday that work was under way to arrange a meeting of Trump, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Nov. 18-19 APEC leaders' meeting in Shenzhen, and Trump has said he wants to discuss nuclear arms control with both leaders. China's Foreign Ministry said last month that it would be "neither fair, reasonable nor realistic" to ask China to join three-way nuclear disarmament talks, since its arsenal is far smaller.

The South China Morning Post reported this week that a trilateral meeting could produce a commitment on controlling artificial intelligence in nuclear arsenals. For now, the two readouts suggest Washington is pressing for a three-way nuclear conversation that Beijing has not publicly endorsed. Focus Plus Media will follow the Shenzhen summit as it unfolds.