Trump, Xi and Putin to hold first three-way leaders' meeting in Shenzhen
The White House says nuclear arms cuts and Iran will be raised at the APEC sidelines talks on November 19, but the war in Ukraine will not.
US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Shenzhen on November 19, the first three-way meeting between the leaders of the three countries, the White House said on Friday. The Straits Times and CNA, both carrying an AFP report, and the South China Morning Post said the talks will be held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The Hindu reported the summit brings together 21 economies.
"The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters. The SCMP, which described Wales as assistant press secretary, quoted her as saying Trump would "conclude his visit to China" with the trilateral meeting.
US officials said Trump also intends to raise the war in Iran. Ukraine is off the agenda. A senior official said Washington had a "whole other track" of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow, adding: "China is not really a part of that track." The Hindu reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concern the meeting could be used to discuss a Ukraine deal behind Kyiv's back.
According to The Hindu, the last nuclear arms pact between Russia and the US, New START, expired in February, and Trump rejected a Russian call to extend it for a year, seeking a new deal that includes China. Beijing has more than 600 warheads by Pentagon estimates, against more than 5,000 each for the US and Russia, and has shown little interest in a pact. Edgard Kagan, a former US ambassador to Malaysia now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told the paper he "would be shocked" by any joint statement on denuclearisation.
Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University, said the meeting could undercut China's effort to present itself as a defender of free trade at APEC. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference, saying any agreements reached in Shenzhen could not be enforced on others.
Trump will also hold a working lunch and bilateral meeting with Xi that day, their fourth meeting since Trump returned to power in 2025, AFP reported. No separate one-on-one with Putin is scheduled. Elon Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not take part in the talks with Xi and Putin.
Officials said the resignation of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang over an affair with an alleged Chinese spy was not expected to come up, and that export controls on sensitive chip technology would not be discussed. "We do not negotiate American export controls," a second senior official said.
Trump leaves Washington on Monday, November 16, and arrives in the Philippines on Tuesday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit before travelling to Shenzhen.
Sources: The Straits Times, Trump, Xi, Putin to hold historic meeting in China: White House; CNA, Trump, Xi, Putin to hold historic meeting in China: White House; South China Morning Post, White House confirms US-China-Russia trilateral talks on Apec sidelines; The Hindu, Trump, Xi and Putin plan unprecedented joint meeting on sidelines of APEC in China: officials.
