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US President Donald Trump will hold a joint meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, the White House has officially announced. This will be the first ever trilateral summit of the heads of these three states; Washington called nuclear deterrence its main goal, although Beijing had previously refused to negotiate on this topic. There are no plans to discuss Ukraine, a White House source told reporters.
The leaders of the United States, China and Russia are scheduled to meet on Thursday, November 19, on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen. The first joint meeting of the heads of the world's largest nuclear powers will be an unprecedented event, notes the Associated Press.
“The President made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear arsenals in the world. Donald Trump believes that the proliferation of nuclear weapons poses a great danger,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters.
Trump's insistence on focusing on reducing nuclear arsenals could anger China, which has rejected attempts to discuss nuclear weapons involving Russia and the United States.
American officials urge not to expect the conclusion of a new nuclear agreement, noting that these negotiations will only be a starting point, CNN reports.
“We do not expect to reach any specific agreement,” a senior US administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “I would characterize this as an initial stage, as the first conversation (at least at the leadership level) between these countries.”
“This is a difficult topic for China, but we believe that it is time for Beijing, so to speak, to sit down at the ‘adult table’ and start a serious conversation about serious things,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
As the agency notes, Beijing has for many years avoided direct dialogue with Washington regarding its nuclear program, arguing that these issues should be discussed primarily by Russia and the United States, which have the most significant arsenals.
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According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia has the largest number of nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and China.
The Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) between the United States and Russia expired in February.
It was the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries and the first time in more than half a century that restrictions on the two largest nuclear arsenals were lifted.
Trump rejected Russia's offer to extend it for another year, calling for a "new, improved and modernized" agreement that included China.
According to the interlocutor of the three publications, during the meeting Trump will also raise the topic of American-Israeli military actions against Iran, but one should not expect him to raise the issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine. A bilateral personal meeting with Putin is also not expected, a White House source said.
According to him, businessman Elon Musk, among others, will go on the trip with Trump, but his participation in the trilateral meeting is not planned, as is the discussion of Ukraine’s access to the satellite Internet system provided by his company SpaceX.
“We have recently had many contacts with the Russian side, but China is not involved in this process, so it would be inappropriate to discuss the topic of Ukraine here,” Reuters quoted a White House spokesman as saying.
Beijing and Moscow have not yet officially confirmed their participation in this trilateral summit. It is unclear whether Russia or China are willing to discuss arms reductions with Trump.
Although the summit with the participation of the leaders of the three countries is an exceptional phenomenon, analysts do not expect major breakthroughs from it, noting that the event will be more symbolic than substantive, writes the Associated Press.
Xi Jinping may be hoping to demonstrate China's growing influence and prestige, and for the Kremlin, the planned trilateral meeting could be a chance to present itself as a superpower on par with Washington and Beijing, the agency comments.
“I think the main thing for Putin was to signal a willingness to engage in dialogue with the US President and Chairman Xi - a dialogue that creates the impression that they are the ones making decisions on Ukraine. Of course, neither the Ukrainians nor the Europeans like it,” says Edgard Kagan, a former US ambassador to Malaysia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trump will arrive in Shenzhen late Wednesday to attend the two-day 21-nation APEC summit. Trump is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Xi Jinping on Thursday, their fourth meeting since Trump returns to the White House in 2025.
This year, the Chinese leader received Putin and Trump in Beijing just a few days apart, and in September the US president met with the Chinese leader in Washington.
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