Trump, Xi and Putin to hold historic first trilateral summit

Summarised from 14 outlets · 19 reports · Updated 15 Nov, 06:19 · Archive

The leaders of the US, China and Russia will meet next Thursday on the sidelines of an economic summit in Shenzhen to discuss nuclear arms control.

President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, the White House confirmed on Friday. It will be the first-ever trilateral meeting between leaders of the three countries.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters that Trump will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons, which he believes is dangerous. The meeting comes nine months after the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Washington and Moscow expired in February, leaving the world's two largest nuclear powers without major limits on their arsenals for the first time in more than fifty years. Trump has rejected Russia's proposal to extend the treaty, instead demanding a new agreement that includes China. China has resisted joining such negotiations, arguing its nuclear arsenal is much smaller than those of the US and Russia. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia holds the most stored warheads, followed by the US, then China.

US officials said discussions will also touch on the war in Iran. A senior US official told reporters that Ukraine will not be on the agenda, saying Washington has a separate 'whole other track' of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow on that conflict. 'China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn't seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there,' the official said.

Expectations for concrete outcomes are low. A senior Trump administration official told reporters: 'We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement. I would characterise this as the entry point, the first conversation.' The official also noted that nuclear arms reduction is 'a difficult topic for China to address' but that there is a belief it is 'time for China to step up to the adults' table'.

Trump will travel to China with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, though Musk will not attend the meeting. Trump's Asia trip begins Monday with a stop in the Philippines for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit before he travels to Shenzhen for the APEC summit on 18-19 November. The trilateral meeting will take place on Thursday.

Moscow and Beijing have not yet commented on the announced summit. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the talks could represent a 'Yalta-like redistribution of spheres of influence' for the twenty-first century. Chinese state media have said Xi will hold bilateral talks at the summit but have not mentioned the trilateral meeting, though a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed in recent days that officials were 'in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state'.

How it is being reported

• Anthony Albanese welcomes Trump-Xi-Putin summit – even as European leaders express reservations‘We think dialogue is a good thing,’ Australian PM says after German chancellor urges the US to work with Europe for peace in Ukraine Australia has endorsed this week’s historic summit between Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in China, even as European leaders warn that the US president must not make major concessions over the war in Ukraine. The three-way summit is planned to take place in Shenzhen, where the leaders will gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting. Likened to the 1945 summit at Yalta , the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has warned…Guardian World · 15 Nov, 06:22
• Trump-Putin-Xi meeting likely to be short on substance, rich in symbolismThe talks with the leaders of two countries that represent the biggest challenges to American power could set a worrying precedent for U.S. allies.The Japan Times · 15 Nov, 06:12
• Trump-Xi-Putin trilateral meeting at APEC: What to expectA nuclear treaty and the US's war on Iran are among priority topics for China, Russia and US leaders.Al Jazeera · 14 Nov, 12:14
• Trump to meet Putin and Xi in China next week for historic meeting, White House confirmsThe White House says the leaders will discuss nuclear disarmament and the war in IranIndependent World · 14 Nov, 11:24
• Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping to meet in first trilateral of its kindPresident Trump is looking to talk about reducing nuclear arsenals in the first formal trilateral between the leaders of U.S., China and Russia.CBS News · 14 Nov, 10:59
• Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping to hold historic first-ever meeting next weekThe leaders of the world's three largest nuclear powers are set to gather together for the first time in history next week, the White House has confirmed. Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will hold an unprecedented trilateral meeting on Thursday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales announced that "President Trump will conclude his visit to China with a trilateral meeting between the president of the United States, the president of the People's Republic of China, and the…GB News · 14 Nov, 10:52
• Trump, Xi and Putin to meet in China, White House saysTrump is set to depart Washington on Monday for the Philippines, where he is due to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations before making his way to Shenzhen in China.Euronews · 14 Nov, 09:00
• Trump, Xi and Putin to hold unprecedented meeting, White House saysThe leaders of the US, China and Russia will hold an unprecedented meeting on the sidelines of a major economic summit, the White House has said.Sky News · 14 Nov, 08:19
• Yalta became a byword for betrayal. Will Trump, Xi and Putin enact another carve-up?Russia and US approach potential summit seeking China’s help to extricate them from wars of choice, as Putin hopes to find consensus on new global order The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is among those who have expressed concern that the world will witness a Yalta 2.0 moment if Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meet trilaterally, as expected, on the sidelines of the Apec summit in China next week. It is a truism in diplomacy that if you are not around the table, the risk is that you, or your values, are on the menu and about to be carved up. Many excluded from the…The Guardian · 14 Nov, 07:00
• Trump, Putin and Xi to hold major talks – what it could mean for Europe and IranRussian officials have been keen to compare the meeting with the infamous Yalta Conference, where major superpowers divided the world into spheres of influenceThe i Paper · 14 Nov, 06:00
• Trump to attend first-ever meeting between leaders of US, China and Russia in just days... but Nvidia 'honeypot' scandal and war in Ukraine will not be discussedThe leaders of the United States, China and Russia plan to meet Thursday on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China's tech hub of Shenzhen.Daily Mail · 14 Nov, 05:26
• Trump, Xi, Putin to hold historic meeting in China: White HouseDonald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will hold the first three-way meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China at a summit in Shenzhen next week, the White House said Friday.France 24 · 14 Nov, 05:09
• China to host first-ever trilateral meeting between Trump, Xi and Putin next weekThe three leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Thursday, the White House confirmed. Likely discussions will include nuclear weapons and the war in Iran, but US officials have said Ukraine is not unlikely to be on the agenda. Ukraine's President Zelensky warned the talks could prove a Yalta-like "redistribution of spheres of influence" for the 21st century.France 24 · 14 Nov, 05:09
• China to host first-ever trilateral meeting between Trump, Xi and Putin next week, US saysThe three leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Thursday, the White House confirmed. US officials said discussions will include nuclear weapons and the war in Iran, and that the war in Ukraine is unlikely to be on the agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the talks could prove a Yalta-like "redistribution of spheres of influence".France 24 · 14 Nov, 05:09
• Trump, Xi and Putin to hold first three-way summit in ChinaWhite House says Trump plans to discuss the Iran war and nuclear arms at a meeting on the sidelines of APEC next week.Al Jazeera · 14 Nov, 04:55
• Trump to meet Xi, Putin for three-way huddle on nuclear arms talksThe White House has said President Donald Trump will urge Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to discuss cutting nuclear arsenals in Shenzhen next week, though a senior US official expects no agreement.DW News · 14 Nov, 04:11
• Trump, Putin and Xi plan historic joint meeting in China next week, White House saysTrump will discuss the "reduction of nuclear weapons" during the unprecedented talks, a spokeswoman says.BBC News · 14 Nov, 02:05
• Trump, Xi and Putin to hold historic meeting on APEC sidelines in ChinaTrump wants to talk about reducing nuclear arsenals and is also set to bring up his war in Iran — but is not expected to discuss the war in Ukraine.The Japan Times · 14 Nov, 00:23
• Trump will have historic meeting with Xi, Putin in China to talk nuclear arms controlBrokering an end to the war in Ukraine is another potential topic of conversation.New York Post · 13 Nov, 21:06

In this story: Donald Trump · Vladimir Putin · Xi Jinping · Volodymyr Zelensky · United States · Russia · China · Shenzhen

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log