Trump, Xi and Putin to hold first trilateral meeting in Shenzhen — nuclear arms on the agenda
The Shenzhen skyline. The APEC summit in the Chinese tech hub hosts the first-ever trilateral meeting of the US, Chinese and Russian leaders. Photo: Dinkun Chen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
WASHINGTON: The leaders of the United States, China and Russia will sit down together for the first time next week. The White House announced on Friday that President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin will hold the first trilateral meeting on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub.
What’s on the agenda?
Trump wants to talk about reducing nuclear arsenals at the meeting — he has said it is a chance for all three countries to reach a deal on their nuclear stockpiles. The war in Iran will also be raised, but Trump does not plan to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine at the trilateral, according to a senior US official. The meeting comes nine months after the last nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow expired: the New START pact lapsed in February, leaving the world’s two largest atomic arsenals without caps for the first time in more than 50 years. Trump rejected Russia’s proposal to extend it for another year and demanded a “new, improved and modernised” deal that includes China.
Why expectations are low
“We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” a senior Trump administration official told the Reuters news agency, describing the meeting as the start of a conversation. Russia holds the most nuclear warheads, followed by the US and then China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Beijing and Moscow have yet to officially confirm they will take part. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference — where the leaders of the US, Britain and the Soviet Union shaped the post-war order — but still called the meeting “extremely significant”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced concern that it could become a platform to discuss a Ukraine deal behind Kyiv’s back.
How Trump’s trip will unfold
Trump leaves Washington on Monday and arrives in Manila on Tuesday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit before heading to Shenzhen. On Thursday he will also hold a bilateral meeting and a working lunch with Xi — their fourth meeting since Trump’s return to power. Elon Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not attend the trilateral meeting, and Trump is not expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the Asia trip.
