Trump, Putin, and Xi Plan Historic Trilateral Meeting at APEC Summit in Shenzhen
The White House announced that US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to hold a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week. Discussions will focus on nuclear weapons reduction following the expiration of the US-Russia arms control treaty in February, though no agreement is expected.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are planning to hold a historic trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, next week. The White House announced the planned talks, which are set to take place as Trump attends the two-day summit involving 21 member states.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales stated that Trump will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons during the meeting. An unnamed senior American official said no agreement was expected to follow the talks. Iran may also be discussed, but Ukraine is not expected to be a topic. The focus on nuclear arms comes after a nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia expired in February, leaving major nuclear arsenals without guardrails. Trump has suggested replacing the expired deal with a new agreement that includes China.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday. His trip includes attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippines on Tuesday before heading to China. In addition to the trilateral plans, Trump will participate in bilateral talks with Xi on Thursday, marking their fourth meeting since Trump returned to office in 2025.
Xi hosted both Putin and Trump in Beijing earlier this year, and Trump welcomed Xi to Washington in September. However, reporting on the upcoming gathering has varied by country. Chinese state media reported that Xi would take part in bilateral talks at the APEC summit but did not report on the trilateral meeting. In contrast, Russian state news agency Tass reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were signals confirming readiness for trilateral talks.