Trump, Xi and Putin Plan First-Ever Three-Way Summit in China

President Donald Trump will sit down next week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in what would be the first meeting of the three leaders together, the White House said Friday, according to CNN and NBC News. The session will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, and is expected to center on reducing nuclear weapons.

Officials are playing down expectations. A senior U.S. official told reporters the administration does not expect any agreement and described the meeting as an “entry point,” the first conversation at the leader level among the three countries.

What the meeting is meant to cover

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said Trump will discuss cutting nuclear arsenals worldwide, which he considers very dangerous. The New York Post reported that the summit is set for next Thursday and that the talks could also touch on the war in Iran and on North Korea. CNN said officials plan to discuss Iran as well, while NBC News reported that a senior U.S. official said there are no plans for Trump to engage with North Korea on the trip.

The Ukraine war is not on the agenda. According to NBC News and the New York Post, a senior U.S. official said talks on Ukraine run on a separate track that China is not part of, so raising it would not be appropriate. No one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin is planned, though the two will appear at events together and at the three-way session, NBC News reported.

Why nuclear weapons are the focus

The last nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia expired in February. NBC News reported that its expiration removed limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. When the treaty, known as New START, lapsed, Trump rejected a Russian call to extend it for another year and asked for a new, improved and modernized deal that includes China.

China's arsenal is much smaller than those of the other two. NBC News cited Pentagon estimates of more than 600 warheads for Beijing, against more than 5,000 each for the United States and Russia. China has shown little interest in joining a nuclear pact, NBC News reported, even as CNN noted that it has been building up its arsenal rapidly. The senior U.S. official quoted by the New York Post said China's nuclear buildup is growing faster than any other and that it is time for Beijing to engage in what the official called adult conversations. The official added that Russia has a much longer history of arms control talks.

Other issues on Trump's China trip

The New York Post reported that Trump is expected to press China on its compliance with last year's trade truce, with an official saying rare earth minerals are not being exported at the pace the United States wants. The official said that is why the Busan agreement was extended by two months rather than six.

Trump's trip will begin with a stop in the Philippines, according to the New York Post. Elon Musk will travel with the president and will be the only business leader in the official delegation, NBC News reported, citing a senior U.S. official. Musk is not expected to attend the three-way meeting or any official meetings. Other U.S. business leaders will attend the summit on their own.

What it means for the three countries

NBC News said the meeting comes at a complicated moment for relations among the three powers. Trump has built warm ties with Xi after a truce in last year's trade war and has sought to improve his relationship with Putin, even as Russia's nearly five-year war in Ukraine continues. Trump last met Putin in person in August in Alaska, the New York Post reported.

NBC News also relayed analysts' views on what each side may gain. Xi may see a chance to show off China's growing clout, while the Kremlin gets a chance to appear on par with Washington and Beijing. The summit brings 21 economies to Shenzhen, and a trilateral gathering could overshadow it, NBC News said. A professor of Chinese foreign policy quoted by the outlet said it might also undercut Beijing's effort to present itself as a defender of free trade.