US, Russia, and China to hold unprecedented trilateral summit in Shenzhen

The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Thursday in Shenzhen, China. The trilateral summit is set to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This meeting brings together the leaders of the world's three largest nuclear powers for the first time in an unprecedented diplomatic format.

The discussions are expected to focus on global nuclear disarmament and the regional situation in Iran. While the US administration has expressed a clear interest in addressing the proliferation of nuclear weapons following the expiration of the New-Start treaty in February, officials have stated that the ongoing war in Ukraine will not be part of the agenda. The US approach remains distinct, and Beijing is not considered a formal participant in the existing negotiations between Washington and Kyiv.

While the summit marks a significant diplomatic moment, analysts suggest that it is unlikely to yield concrete agreements. As of now, neither Moscow nor Beijing has officially confirmed the meeting. The Pentagon estimates that China’s nuclear arsenal exceeds 600 warheads, which serves as a backdrop to the push for a new, modernized framework to replace the lapsed bilateral US-Russia arms control restrictions.