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SHENZHEN, China — US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet together for the first time next week, the White House confirmed, in a landmark encounter between the leaders of the world’s three largest nuclear powers.
The trilateral meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. Nuclear arms control and the war against Iran are expected to dominate the agenda.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the president would raise reducing nuclear stockpiles. “The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world,” she told reporters.
The talks come after New START, the last nuclear arms control treaty between Washington and Moscow, expired in February, ending binding limits on the strategic arsenals of the United States and Russia. Trump had rejected a Russian proposal to extend the pact for a year, arguing that any replacement should include China, whose arsenal has grown.
A senior US official told Reuters that no agreement is expected in Shenzhen, describing the meeting as the start of negotiations. The administration also plans to raise the Iran war but not Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Trump arrives Wednesday and will hold separate talks with Xi on Thursday. His four-day Asian trip also includes an ASEAN summit in the Philippines. Adviser Elon Musk will join the delegation but will not attend the trilateral session.
Beijing and Moscow have not formally confirmed the meeting, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged signs of preparations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced concern that Washington and Moscow could discuss Ukraine’s future without Kyiv or European representatives, and European governments have raised similar worries about their security.
The summit also unfolds amid US-China disputes over trade, Taiwan and technology. China remains a trading partner of Russia despite Western sanctions and is Iran’s largest trading partner.
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