Summit preparations and an unsettled three-way meeting
China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on November 18-19, 2026, with the APEC CEO Summit scheduled for November 17-18. Xi intends to use the Shenzhen gathering to display China's tech-driven modernity, according to The Wall Street Journal's Lingling Wei.
Plans for a separate meeting involving the Chinese, U.S. and Russian leaders remain unresolved. Trump's and Xi's teams have been negotiating behind the scenes, and both Beijing and the Kremlin confirmed in early November that discussions were underway. Neither had announced a finalized agreement.
On November 3, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "work is underway to coordinate such a meeting" and expressed hope that arrangements would be completed "in the coming days." China's foreign ministry also acknowledged the talks but said nothing was set.
Trump outlined a possible agenda in October: talks initially "on denuclearization," as well as discussion of Ukraine. He said he would do "anything I can do to end the war." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced concern later that month, warning against a "Yalta – 2, 3, 4" that would redistribute influence. He said any such summit should follow a meeting that includes Ukraine.
Why the Obama comparison has limits
The timing recalls Obama's trip to Beijing in November 2014, shortly after Democrats lost heavily in the midterms. Obama attended a gathering of Pacific Rim leaders and made a state visit. Seeing the U.S. president as politically weakened, Xi spent hours lecturing him about China's history and system of government.
Trump's defeat was broader: Democrats took both the House and Senate in an election the Journal characterized as a repudiation of his presidency. But Wei cautions that the relationship between Washington and Beijing differs substantially from the one Obama encountered.
In 2014, China still had economic growth above 7%, Western economies were struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and Washington continued to support free trade with China. Those conditions helped underpin Xi's confidence.
Matt Turpin, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow who served on Trump's National Security Council during his first term, described Xi's view at the time: "Xi felt confident that the United States under Obama's leadership wasn't going to confront the People's Republic of China."
Joshua Wong receives a new 10-year sentence
In Hong Kong, the High Court imposed a 10-year prison sentence on pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong on November 5, 2026, Hong Kong Free Press reported. Wong, 30, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to collude with foreign forces. It was his second conviction under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law.
Judge William Tam deemed the offense one of "grave nature," choosing a 13-year starting sentence before deducting three years for Wong's timely guilty plea.
Wong had been scheduled for release in January 2027 after serving a four-year, eight-month sentence for conspiracy to subvert state power in the "Hong Kong 47" case. Tam ordered the new sentence to run concurrently with the two months remaining on that term. Unless he receives remission, Wong is likely to stay in prison until 2036, the year he turns 40.
The sentence follows the 20-year prison term imposed in February 2026 on media mogul Jimmy Lai for conspiring to collude with foreign forces.
Nvidia board opens investigation after Huang's apology
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged in a November 8 memo to employees that he "was unfaithful" to his wife, Axios reported. He apologized to his family, colleagues, the board, partners and shareholders.
Nvidia's board announced an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors is overseeing the inquiry with outside counsel.
The board expressed confidence in Huang's leadership and said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets had been compromised.
