Sheinbaum to Meet Xi Jinping at APEC in China, Seeks Talks With Trump
President Sheinbaum will meet Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in China on Nov. 18 and 19 and hopes to see Trump. Her travel dates and who runs the mañanera.
President Claudia Sheinbaum will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in China, she said at her Thursday morning press conference on Nov. 5. She also wants to meet U.S. President Donald Trump there, but only if he attends, and the White House has not confirmed that he will.
The summit runs Nov. 18 and 19. El País reported that it will be held in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The trip is unusual for Sheinbaum: according to El País, both she and her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, have almost never traveled abroad.
A possible meeting with Trump
Sheinbaum told reporters at Palacio Nacional that her government is still not sure Trump will make the trip. If he does, she said, Mexico is interested in meeting him, and the length of any meeting would depend on how long he stays, according to El Universal.
The talks with China are already set. Sheinbaum said there will be a bilateral meeting with Xi and with ministers from both governments. She said several other bilateral meetings are planned and that she will announce them in the coming days.
Travel dates and who runs the mañanera
Sheinbaum plans to leave Mexico in the early hours of Sunday, Nov. 15, and to be back before Friday, Nov. 20, when the country marks the start of the Mexican Revolution. She explained that the flights take close to two days each way, and with the time change she will be in China from Monday to Wednesday before flying home on Thursday.
While she is away, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, head of the Secretaría de Gobernación (Segob, the interior ministry), will lead the daily morning press conferences known as the mañaneras. Sheinbaum said she hopes to join some of them remotely.
What it means for Mexico, China and the US
The visit comes at a tense point between Mexico and China, El País reported. Mexico has put tariffs on Chinese goods, including a duty on pecans, while the White House watches closely. According to El País, the relationship between Mexico City and Beijing has shifted sharply under pressure from Washington, which wants to stop the flow of chemical precursors used to make fentanyl.
That puts Sheinbaum in the position of meeting China’s leader in person while also seeking time with the U.S. president who has pressed Mexico on trade with China. Neither government has said what will be on the agenda.
What to watch next
The list of Sheinbaum’s other bilateral meetings is due in the coming days. Whether Trump attends APEC, and whether a meeting with him happens, is still unconfirmed. Segob’s Rodríguez takes over the morning briefings for the week of Nov. 15, and Sheinbaum is due back in Mexico City for the Revolution Day events on Nov. 20.
Sources: El Universal, El País México
