Nov. 14 (UPI) — President Donald Trump will meet presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China next week for an unprecedented summit focused on nuclear disarmament, officials said Friday.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Shenzhen, China, where Trump will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said reducing the availability of nuclear weapons would be a central topic.
“This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous,” Wales said.
The meeting would mark the first trilateral summit involving the leaders of the three nuclear powers.
Administration officials said no agreement was expected from this first meeting.
“I would characterize this as the entry point, the first conversation, certainly at the leader level, between these countries,” a senior U.S. official told CNN.
The talks come after the last nuclear arms control treaty between Washington and Moscow expired in February, leaving the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals without major treaty restrictions.
Trump has previously proposed replacing the agreement with a broader deal involving China, which has rapidly expanded its nuclear capabilities.
Officials said Iran would also be discussed. It is unclear whether Russia’s war in Ukraine would be on the agenda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern that Washington, Moscow and Beijing could make decisions affecting Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement.
The Kremlin confirmed plans for the meeting. China is yet to formally announce its participation.
Trump is expected to arrive in Shenzhen Wednesday after attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Philippines on Tuesday.
He will hold separate talks with Xi before the three-way meeting, marking their fourth meeting since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
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