White House announces historic Trump, Putin and Xi meeting in China, with nuclear arms on the agenda

The White House said US President Donald Trump will take part in a meeting with the leaders of Russia and China. It is due to take place at the end of his four-day trip to the Philippines and China, where the ASEAN and APEC summits are under way.

Timing and format

According to White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales, the talks are to take place in Shenzhen at the end of Trump's visit. Before that, the US president is expected to meet Xi Jinping separately. The APEC summit is scheduled for 18–19 November, and the three-way meeting is linked to those dates.

The Kremlin confirmed that the possibility of such a meeting had been discussed. Chinese foreign ministry officials spoke of contacts with the relevant parties but did not confirm details.

Reducing nuclear weapons

According to the White House, limiting nuclear arsenals is expected to be one of the main points of the talks. Officials described the meeting as the first conversation at leader level on reducing the arsenals of the three countries. Beijing had until now rejected dialogue on the issue, and US officials said it should take part.

Reports say China is expanding its arsenal, although it remains clearly smaller than the American and Russian ones. Officials stressed that no agreements should be expected from the meeting.

What this means for you

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Iran and Ukraine

White House officials said Trump intends to raise the war in Iran during the talks. He does not plan to discuss the war in Ukraine, which he considers inappropriate because China is not taking part in negotiations on that conflict. The White House also said no separate Trump–Putin meeting has been scheduled.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the idea for the summit came from Putin, who wanted to discuss the terms for ending the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian commentators doubt the meeting will produce an agreement.