Trump, Xi and Putin set for historic China summit

White House assistant press secretary confirmed that US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold an unprecedented three-way summit next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub.

This gathering marks the first trilateral summit involving the top leaders of the US, China, and Russia.

The high-level talks will take place nine months after the last nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow expired, leaving the two nations with the world’s largest atomic arsenals unconstrained by arms caps for the first time in more than 50 years.

New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) lapsed in February. After Trump rejected Russia’s proposal to extend the agreement for another year, he demanded a “new, improved and modernized” deal that includes China.

Trump said the meeting offers a chance for all three countries to achieve a deal on nuclear stockpiles. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports that Russia holds the largest number of nuclear warheads, followed by the US, and then China.

Administration officials have nevertheless tempered expectations regarding immediate breakthroughs. A senior Trump administration official told the Reuters news agency, “We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” describing the encounter as the start of a conversation.

A senior US official, on condition of anonymity, added that Trump plans to discuss the Iran war with Xi and Putin, but will steer away from discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine. Elon Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not attend the trilateral meeting, and Trump does not expect to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his Asia trip.

The scheduled summit has prompted observers to draw comparisons to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union shaped the post-war world order.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the comparison, explaining that nations cannot impose agreements reached in Shenzhen on others. Still, Peskov emphasized that officials view the meeting as “extremely significant”.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced concern that the three leaders might use the gathering as a platform to discuss a Ukraine deal behind Kyiv’s back.

Trump has continued to pursue closer relations with both leaders despite engaging in a short-lived trade war with China last year and managing Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine, where Washington seeks to mediate a solution.

Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)