Trump, Putin and Xi to hold trilateral meeting in China next week

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are scheduled to convene on the sidelines of a summit in China next week, the White House has announced. The historic gathering of the leaders of the US, Russia and China will occur while Mr Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen, according to spokeswoman Olivia Wales.

During the session, the US president intends to address the global reduction of nuclear weapons, a matter he considers highly dangerous, Ms Wales noted. While Iran could feature in the discussions between the major nuclear powers, the topic of Ukraine is not expected to be raised. Neither Moscow nor Beijing has provided a comment on the planned meeting.

An anonymous senior American official stated that no specific agreement is anticipated to result from the talks. Mr Trump is scheduled to arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for the two-day summit involving 21 member states. He will additionally conduct bilateral talks with Mr Xi on Thursday, marking their fourth meeting since Mr Trump took office in 2025.

Ms Wales confirmed that the visit will conclude with a trilateral meeting involving the leaders of the United States, the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation. Before arriving in China, Mr Trump will travel to the Philippines on Tuesday to attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit to advance American interests in the Indo Pacific.

The previous nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia reached its expiration in February, ending the cooperation established during the Cold War. Although the UN has requested a new framework, Mr Trump has expressed a desire to replace the expired deal with an agreement that includes China. Analysts and former senior US officials have previously cautioned that securing cooperation from Beijing and Moscow could face significant obstacles.