Putin to attend Xi-hosted APEC summit in Shenzhen, likely to miss US G-20 with Trump
Vladimir Putin plans to travel to Shenzhen for the APEC summit and is expected to skip the G-20 meeting in Florida with Donald Trump.
According to sources close to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin intends to travel to Shenzhen, China, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by Xi Jinping on Nov 18-19, his first direct involvement since 2017. The same sources say the odds of him appearing at the G-20 summit in Florida with Donald Trump are minimal. Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov noted that a three-way meeting of the world’s three biggest nuclear powers was discussed during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, but would hinge on Trump’s attendance at APEC.
Putin’s overseas movements remain restricted by Western sanctions and a 2023 International Criminal Court arrest warrant over alleged deportation of Ukrainian children, though he has visited Mongolia and other nations recently. He previously met Trump in Alaska in August 2025 and briefly with Xi in Vietnam nine years ago. Russian officials doubt any substantive progress on ending the Ukraine war before the G-20 and express disappointment with Trump’s envoys, while a surprise appearance by Volodymyr Zelensky at the G-20 is also considered a risk.
Why it matters
The trip shows how Russia’s diplomatic options are shaped by sanctions, legal constraints and the evolving US-China-Russia dynamic.
How this story developed
- Sep 11 Modi and Putin share a private car ride in Delhi ahead of BRICS summit
- Sep 11 The two leaders shared a car ride to the INNOPROM India exhibition after their bilateral talks.
- Sep 11 BRICS expanded to eleven member countries.
- Sep 12 The 18th BRICS summit opened in New Delhi with India presiding and leaders including Xi Jinping arriving for the meeting.
- Sep 12 Modi called for immediate UN Security Council reform and urged the Global South to become a rule‑shaper at the summit's opening.
- Sep 12 Chinese President Xi Jinping called on BRICS nations at the New Delhi summit to support peace initiatives in the Middle East, saying the war harms the international community.
- Sep 12 The two leaders met on the margins of the BRICS Summit. Vietnam is a partner country in the BRICS grouping.
- Sep 12 Leaders adopted the Delhi Declaration and Modi proposed a continuity mechanism to implement summit outcomes.
- Sep 13 Leaders adopted a 140‑point New Delhi Declaration covering security, trade, climate and technology issues.
- Sep 13 Day 2 of the summit focused on PM Modi’s four‑pillar BRICS agenda, early‑warning and disaster systems, AI, digital agriculture, supply chains and startups.
- Sep 13 President Xi outlined proposals for a BRICS AI Open Source Zone and a China‑hosted service‑trade forum.
- Sep 17 Heads of state will gather in New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session, where they are expected to discuss artificial intelligence, ongoing wars and climate action.
- Sep 19 India unveiled a BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework during the summit.
- Sep 20 Brazil opened the floor and the United States spoke second, establishing the speaking order for the session.
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