WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet Thursday in Shenzhen for the first three-way summit among leaders of the United States, China and Russia, the White House confirmed.
The talks will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, putting nuclear arms control at the center of an unusually high-stakes gathering among the world’s most powerful nuclear states.
What the leaders are expected to discuss
A senior U.S. official said the trilateral meeting is intended to begin a longer conversation about reducing nuclear arsenals. No agreement is expected to be announced at the summit, according to the Associated Press.
That starting point matters because the New START treaty between Washington and Moscow expired in February, ending the last remaining limits on the two largest nuclear stockpiles. The United States and Russia are each estimated to possess more than 5,000 warheads. China has more than 600, according to Pentagon estimates cited by the AP, and Beijing has historically resisted entering a three-way pact while its arsenal remains much smaller.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the U.S. war with Iran. North Korea could come up as well, Reuters reported. Ukraine, however, is not expected to be part of the trilateral agenda because U.S. officials say negotiations over Russia’s war are proceeding on a separate track involving Kyiv and Moscow.
Why the meeting is historic
Trump, Xi and Putin have all met one another in pairs, but never as a group. The White House described Thursday’s encounter as the first meeting of its kind. Its symbolism alone could reshape the diplomatic tone around nuclear weapons, even if the leaders leave Shenzhen without a concrete deal.
The meeting also gives each leader a distinct opportunity. Trump can press his call for a modern arms-control framework that includes China. Xi can showcase Beijing’s growing diplomatic influence while China hosts leaders from 21 APEC economies. Putin can appear alongside Washington and Beijing as Russia seeks to project global-power status despite its continuing war in Ukraine.
Those overlapping interests do not guarantee common ground. The vast difference between China’s arsenal and those of the United States and Russia remains a fundamental obstacle. Tensions over Iran, Ukraine, Taiwan, trade and technology also hang over the talks.
The Ukraine concern
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced concern that a meeting among the three powers could become a venue for decisions about Ukraine without Kyiv at the table. U.S. officials have pushed back on that possibility, saying China is not part of the separate Ukraine negotiating track and that the war is not planned for Thursday’s trilateral session.
Comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference have circulated among critics and analysts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected that analogy, arguing that any understandings reached in Shenzhen could not be imposed on other countries.
What happens next
Trump is also scheduled to hold a separate working lunch and bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday. No separate Trump-Putin meeting has been announced. The White House said Elon Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not participate in the trilateral talks, according to Agence France-Presse.
The central test will be whether the leaders can move beyond ceremony and establish a process for future arms-control negotiations. Even a narrow agreement to continue talking would be significant after the expiration of New START and amid renewed nuclear competition.
Featured image: Conceptual editorial illustration of the planned summit venue.
