First trilateral summit set
President Donald Trump will take part in the first-ever trilateral meeting between the leaders of the United States, China and Russia on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in China next week, senior U.S. officials told reporters Friday evening. The White House said Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub, on the sidelines of the APEC summit, with spokeswoman Olivia Wales telling reporters, “The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world.” U.S. officials said the meeting will be the first between the three leaders and that they do not anticipate any concrete agreement, characterizing the session as an initial conversation broaching the subject.
U.S. officials also said Trump does not intend to discuss Russia’s war with Ukraine during the trilateral meeting, while officials said Iran is expected to be discussed with Xi and Putin. The meeting will take place as Trump attends the Apec summit in the southern city of Shenzhen, and no agreement was expected to follow the talks.
Agenda, expectations, and exclusions
A senior U.S. official told Reuters that the administration “do[es] not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” describing the meeting as the start of a conversation. Olivia Wales told reporters that Trump will conclude his China visit with a trilateral meeting between the president of the United States, the president of the People’s Republic of China, and the president of the Russian Federation. U.S. officials said Trump plans to discuss Iran with Xi and Vladimir Putin, but they said he will steer away from discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous,” Olivia Wales told reporters, and she said Trump will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. Officials downplayed the prospect of striking a new deal on nuclear matters and said, “We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” while also saying the talks would be a starting point.
Nuclear arms context and stakes
The meeting is scheduled about nine months after the last nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow expired, leaving the world’s two countries with the largest atomic arsenals without caps for the first time in more than 50 years, Al Jazeera reported. A nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia expired in February, leaving the world’s biggest nuclear arsenals without major guardrails and effectively marking an end to the arms control co-operation that helped resolve the Cold War. The White House assistant press secretary confirmed the trilateral talks would be held on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, and Al Jazeera said the talks would come as the New START lapsed in February.
CNN reported that officials said the leaders also planned to discuss Iran, and it said Elon Musk is expected to go on the trip with Trump, though he is not expected to attend the trilateral meeting. Trump will be in Asia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Philippines and the APEC summit in China, and the last nuclear arms pact between the U.S. and Russia, New START, expired in February.
