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The White House announced on the 13th that US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit meeting in China on the 19th.
The White House spokesperson said in a conference call with reporters that the unprecedented meeting between the three leaders will take place when President Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, southern China.
"The President has made clear that, among other topics, he will discuss reducing global nuclear weapons. President Trump believes the proliferation of nuclear weapons is extremely dangerous," the spokesperson said.
The Russian and Chinese governments have so far not commented on the summit.
According to the Associated Press and Reuters, unnamed senior U.S. government officials said there was no hope of reaching any agreement in the three-way talks.
At the meeting of the world's three major nuclear powers, the issue of Iran may come up on the agenda. It is unclear whether the Ukraine issue will be on the agenda. Trump has no intention of discussing Ukraine at the three-way meeting, a senior U.S. official said.
President Trump is scheduled to arrive late on the 18th for the APEC summit meeting to be held on the 18th and 19th. On the 19th, he will also participate in bilateral talks with President Xi. This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides since President Trump returned to office in 2025.
"President Trump will conclude his visit to China with a tripartite meeting between the President of the United States, the President of the People's Republic of China, and the President of the Russian Federation," White House Press Secretary Olivia Wales said.
Trump is also scheduled to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit to be held in the Philippines on the 17th. Welsh said Trump's trip "represents a historic victory for the American people and advances America's interests in the Indo-Pacific region."
The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last treaty between the United States and Russia on the control of nuclear weapons, in February this year removes the main safeguards controlling the world's two largest nuclear powers, effectively ending the arms control cooperation that helped end the Cold War.
In response to this situation, the United Nations urged both sides to quickly agree on a new framework. But Trump said he could replace it with a better deal that includes China, which is building up its military.
At the time of New START's expiration, former US government officials and analysts told the BBC there were major obstacles to getting China and Russia to cooperate and it could take years.
In May of this year, President Xi welcomed President Putin and President Trump to Beijing a few days apart. President Trump welcomed President Xi to Washington in September.
On the 13th, Chinese state media reported, citing a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, that Xi would participate in "bilateral" talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit, but did not report on a tripartite meeting.
Russian state news agency Tass reported earlier this month that there were "signs of readiness" for such talks at the summit, Russian Presidential Office Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
(English article Trump, Putin and Xi plan historic joint meeting in China next week, White House says)
