Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping plan to meet on the sidelines of a summit in China next week, the White House said. The historic meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China will take place while Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in the southern city of Shenzhen, spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters. “The president has made it clear that, among other issues, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, the proliferation of which President Trump considers very dangerous,” he said. It is understood that Iran may also be discussed during the meeting of the world’s largest nuclear powers, but not Ukraine. Moscow and Beijing have not yet commented. No agreement was expected after the talks, an unnamed senior US official said, according to the AP and Reuters news agencies. Trump will arrive in Shenzhen late Wednesday for the two-day summit between the 21 member states. He will also participate in bilateral talks with Xi on Thursday, their fourth meeting since the US president returned to power in 2025. “President Trump will conclude his visit to China with a trilateral meeting between the president of the United States, the president of the People’s Republic of China and the president of the Russian Federation,” Wales said. He said Trump’s trip, which will also include attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippines on Tuesday, “will secure historic victories for the American people and advance US interests in the Indo-Pacific.” A nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia expired in February, leaving the world’s largest nuclear arsenals without significant safeguards and effectively marking the end of arms control cooperation that helped resolve the Cold War. The UN has urged both sides to agree on a new framework without delay. However, Trump said he could replace the deal with a better deal that included China, which has been building up its arsenal. Former senior US officials and analysts told the BBC at the time that seeking cooperation from Beijing and Moscow could present major obstacles and take years.
