First-Ever Trilateral Meeting between Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping to Be Held in China Next Week

U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold their first-ever trilateral meeting next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. The talks are likely to cover major international issues, including nuclear arms reduction and the situation in Iran. White House spokesperson Olivia Wells told reporters that the three leaders would meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit, which is being hosted by the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. According to Wells, President Trump has made it clear that he intends to discuss reducing nuclear weapons worldwide, as he considers the proliferation of nuclear arms extremely dangerous.

U.S. officials said the situation in Iran is also likely to feature in the discussions. A senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump intends to raise the issue of Iran in his talks with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin and discuss matters related to the U.S. war as well. According to the official, Washington has launched separate negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. In recent days, U.S. representatives have held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Since China is not directly involved in this negotiating process, discussions on the Ukraine war are not expected to feature in the trilateral meeting.

U.S. officials also said that Elon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, would accompany President Trump on his visit to China. However, Musk would not take part in the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Putin.  According to the schedule, Trump will also hold bilateral talks and a working lunch with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. This will be the fourth meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to power last year. However, no separate one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin has been scheduled.

U.S. officials said that the issue of alleged links between NVIDIA chief executive Jensen Huang and a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy is also not expected to be discussed during the visit to China. A senior American official said the matter should not have any significant impact on Trump's visit.  Officials further clarified that U.S. restrictions on exports of sensitive semiconductor chip technology would also not be discussed in talks with China. According to them, export restrictions are matters of national security and are determined independently by the U.S. administration. Under the schedule, Trump will depart Washington on Monday and arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday, where he will attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He will then travel to Shenzhen, China.