Beijing’s big tent: Could the world’s strongmen share a stage?

Call it the Summit of Shadows, the Axis of Optics, or simply the photo op to end all photo ops. As the leaves begin to turn and markets brace for September’s volatility, the geopolitical grapevine is swirling with word of a possible three-way summit in Beijing featuring Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and—yes—Donald Trump.

The Kremlin’s spokesman just cracked the door open. Trump, we’re told, hasn’t RSVP’d, but if he were to show up at the September 3rd commemoration of WWII’s end, a meeting “cannot be ruled out.” That’s like saying a thunderstorm might produce lightning. If the three leaders do appear side by side, it wouldn’t just be a handshake—it would be an olive branch tossed into the heart of the post-war diplomatic order.

Make no mistake: this would be theatre on an epic scale. Beijing wants it. Moscow welcomes it. Trump lives for it. And the sheer optics—three powerful men in a carefully choreographed display of managed multipolarism—could send every think tank analyst in DC into a tailspin.

For markets, the implications run deeper than the headlines. First, it signals that Trump’s frosty relations with Beijing may be thawing.A Trump visit to China would suggest more transactional diplomacy is back in vogue. For traders, this could mean repricing risk on tariffs, reevaluating the trajectory of the tech war, and scrutinizing Chinese equities with fresh eyes.

Second, it dangles the prospect—however slim—of some movement on Ukraine. Trump’s known interest in making “the deal” with Russia, coupled with a photo op alongside Putin, would be aimed less at NATO and more at his domestic audience. It’s 4D diplomacy designed for the Maga base.

And finally, the setup forces the U.S. foreign policy establishment into a tight corner. Do they slam the summit as appeasement and risk looking tone-deaf to global realpolitik? Or do they watch, grit their teeth, and let Trump play statesman in a room full of autocrats? Either way, the market implications are clear: the Cold War chessboard is being flipped. We’re not just moving from unipolarity to multipolarity—we’re holding a reunion tour for the great power club, and the bouncers may not let Washington’s usual gatekeepers inside.

So mark September 3rd on your calendar. If this summit comes to pass, it won’t be business as usual. It’ll be a geopolitical remix—with fireworks, flashbulbs, and possibly some fire in the bond and commodity pits. Traders might want to hedge like it’s 1971 again—when old orders broke, and new ones weren’t yet born.