Trump, Xi and Putin to Meet for Talks on Reducing Nuclear Weapons

The leaders of the world’s three nuclear powers, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, are set to hold a trilateral meeting for the first time.

The meeting is scheduled to take place next Thursday (November 19) in Shenzhen, China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Key issues on the agenda will include preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, reducing nuclear arsenals and the situation in Iran.

The White House confirmed the meeting between the three leaders on Friday (November 13). It will be the first joint meeting of the heads of state of the United States, China and Russia. The meeting has drawn particular international attention as it will bring together the leaders of the world’s three major nuclear powers.

White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales told reporters that Mr. Trump would raise the issue of reducing the number of nuclear weapons worldwide. She said the proliferation of nuclear weapons was extremely dangerous. The three leaders will also discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the situation in Iran.

However, Washington does not expect an immediate agreement or any major breakthrough from the meeting. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting should be seen as the beginning of direct talks among the leaders of the three countries on nuclear arms control. The main objective is to create scope for meaningful dialogue in the future.

The United States and Russia possess the world’s largest nuclear arsenals. China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding its nuclear capabilities. US officials claim that China’s nuclear arsenal is growing faster than that of any other country. According to various international estimates, the United States and Russia each possess more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, while China has more than 600. As a result, Washington wants Beijing to be included in future arms control agreements.

Meanwhile, the New START treaty, the latest nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, expired in February. Under the treaty, the two countries had agreed to limit their strategic nuclear weapons. Its expiry has further weakened the existing framework for binding arms control between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. The Trump administration wants China to be included in any new agreement. However, Beijing has shown little interest in joining such talks, as its nuclear arsenal remains much smaller than those of the United States and Russia.

US officials said the situation in Iran would be discussed at the meeting, but the Ukraine war is not expected to be on the agenda. Washington and Moscow have separate ongoing talks on the Ukraine crisis. Since China is not directly involved in that process, the United States sees no need to raise the issue at the trilateral meeting.

Meanwhile, as part of Mr. Trump’s visit to China, he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks and attend a working lunch with Mr. Xi Jinping on Thursday afternoon. The joint meeting of the three leaders will take place afterwards. However, no separate bilateral meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin has been announced so far.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is expected to accompany Mr. Trump on his visit to China. However, Mr. Musk is not scheduled to attend the special trilateral meeting between Mr. Trump, Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin.

It is worth mentioning that the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19. Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping will chair the summit. Representatives from the 21 member economies are expected to attend, with regional trade, economic cooperation and technological development also featuring prominently on the agenda.