Trilateral meeting set
The White House said Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping plan a historic joint meeting in China next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. Olivia Wales told reporters that Trump will discuss “the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world” and that the leaders will meet as Trump attends the Apec summit in Shenzhen.
A nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia expired in February, leaving the world’s biggest nuclear arsenals without major guardrails. A senior US official told the BBC that “No agreement was expected to follow the talks,” and the White House said the meeting would be held as Trump arrives in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for the two-day summit between the 21 member states.
What leaders will discuss
Olivia Wales told reporters that Trump will discuss nuclear weapons reduction, and the White House said the meeting would also cover Iran while not covering Ukraine. Iran may also be discussed during the meeting of the world’s biggest nuclear powers, but not Ukraine, and Moscow and Beijing were yet to comment.
A senior US official told CNN that officials downplayed the prospect of striking a new deal on nuclear matters and suggested the talks would be a starting point. The New York Times said Trump plans to discuss the war against Iran at the meeting with Xi and Putin, while the paper said he is not expected to bring up Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Musk, timing, and stakes
Trump would be joined by the billionaire Elon Musk in Shenzhen, but Musk would not be part of the trilateral meeting. Elon Musk will join Trump on the trip and a US official said, “It is time for China to sort of step up to the adult table and have adult conversations about adult things.”
Xi separately hosted both Putin and Trump in Beijing just days apart earlier this year, while the US president welcomed his Chinese counterpart to Washington in September. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about a steady buildup of China’s arsenal and China is on track to have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, while the paper said the US-Russia arms control treaty expired in February.
