President Trump to Hold Historic First Trilateral Meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in China

President Donald Trump will meet next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. The White House confirmed the session, scheduled for Thursday, will be the first-ever trilateral gathering of the leaders of the United States, China, and Russia.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales stated that Trump “has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation President Trump believes is very dangerous.” U.S. officials described the talks as an initial conversation rather than a venue for immediate agreements. The agenda is also expected to include the ongoing war involving Iran, but U.S. officials have indicated Russia’s war in Ukraine will not be discussed, characterizing it as a separate track.

The trilateral comes after the February 5, 2026, expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last major bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. That treaty had limited each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 delivery vehicles. Russia suspended formal participation in 2023 amid tensions over Ukraine but said it would continue observing the numerical limits. Putin later proposed an informal one-year extension of those limits; the Trump administration did not accept it, with the president previously indicating a preference for a broader deal that includes China. China, whose nuclear arsenal has grown rapidly in recent years, has never been bound by such U.S.-Russia limits.

Trump’s Asia itinerary begins with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Manila early next week before he travels to Shenzhen for APEC, which runs November 18–19. He is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting and working lunch with Xi on Thursday—marking another in a series of engagements between the two leaders this year—before the trilateral with Putin. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is expected to join Trump for portions of the China portion of the trip, citing business interests in the country; officials said he will not participate in the leaders’ meetings.

Earlier this month, Trump told reporters he expected the Shenzhen discussions to cover denuclearization and efforts to end the war in Iran. Recent statements from the president have described Iran’s military position as significantly degraded, with the United States maintaining a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz while pursuing diplomacy through regional intermediaries. U.S. officials have played down expectations of a breakthrough at the APEC-related sessions, framing them as an opening for longer-term talks on nuclear issues and regional stability.

Beijing has previously confirmed it was in communication with relevant parties about a possible three-leader meeting. The gathering occurs as APEC leaders address topics including trade, artificial intelligence, and economic cooperation among the group’s 21 member economies. No separate one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin is planned during the visit.

The White House announcement positions the Shenzhen talks as a direct engagement among the world’s primary nuclear powers at a moment when formal bilateral limits have lapsed and China’s arsenal continues to expand. Officials have stressed that any progress would require follow-on work beyond this initial session.