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A poster for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled to be held for two days starting November 18 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. A historic trilateral summit among the U.S., China, and Russia could potentially take place at the meeting. / The Beijing News

Prospects of a trilateral summit among the U.S., China, and Russia are rising once again. Should it truly materialize, unprecedented upheavals in global geopolitics, including on the Korean Peninsula, appear inevitable.

According to Beijing diplomatic sources well-versed in global affairs on the 30th of last month, Russian Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov stated in an interview with state-run broadcaster Vesti the previous day that President Vladimir Putin will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, in mid-November as scheduled.

He added that if the U.S. president also attends, Chinese President Xi Jinping is highly likely to take steps to convene a trilateral meeting. With U.S. President Donald Trump's attendance at the APEC summit seen as virtually certain, taking Ushakov's remarks at face value suggests that a trilateral summit of the three global superpowers' strongmen is as good as confirmed.

To be sure, he left some room for doubt, noting that an agreement on the meeting has not yet been reached. He also took a step back by remarking that there is no guarantee President Trump will attend the APEC summit. However, considering that he also hinted at the possibility of a three-way meeting on the 1st of last month by saying that the three leaders could meet if things go according to plan, something unusual appears to be brewing.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui bolstered that momentum in an interview with Russian outlet Izvestia on the same day, noting that a trilateral meeting would be significant for building a multipolar world order. This naturally fuels speculation that senior officials from the three nations may have met secretly behind closed doors to hammer out an understanding regarding the gathering. Moreover, recalling the enduring adage that frequent thunder and lightning eventually bring rain, one cannot completely rule out a first-ever face-to-face encounter among the three heads of state.

Factoring in the substantial political benefits such a summit would deliver to all three leaders, viewing Ushakov's repeated remarks as foreshadowing a historic turning point hardly seems an exaggeration. For President Trump, participating in a trilateral summit alongside his pursuit of an encounter in Shenzhen with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would offer an ideal opportunity to dramatically reverse the political climate ahead of a challenging midterm election in early November, leaving him little reason to decline.

For President Xi, brokering the meeting would enable him to immediately cement his stature as a global leader surpassing President Trump, making it highly probable that he will pursue it with unexpected vigor. It embodies the sentiment of genuinely desiring an outcome without daring to ask openly.

For President Putin, stepping into such talks would provide a crucial turning point to finally bring the Ukraine war to a close, making him all the more eager to sit down with President Trump and President Xi. Beijing diplomatic sources cautiously projecting that Shenzhen, the host city of the APEC summit, could serve as a historic stage reshaping global geopolitics appears well-founded.

                                                                                                            Hong Soon-do