Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will meet together for the first time on Thursday 19 November in Shenzhen, China. The White House confirmed the meeting on Friday. It will take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit, which runs from 18 to 19 November.
It is the first ever three-way meeting of the leaders of the world’s three biggest nuclear powers. Trump will first hold a bilateral meeting with Xi, followed by a working lunch, on Thursday. The trilateral meeting will follow later that day.
A first for the three nuclear powers
No American president has ever sat down with the leaders of Russia and China at the same table before. The three countries hold almost all of the world’s nuclear weapons between them. Their relations have been tense for years, and direct talks between all three at once have never happened.
The meeting is part of Trump’s trip to Asia for the APEC summit in Shenzhen. APEC brings together leaders from countries around the Pacific. The summit itself runs for two days, but the trilateral meeting is the event that has drawn the most attention.
Iran war and nuclear arms on the agenda
The main topics will be the war in Iran and nuclear arms reduction. Trump has said the war in Iran is effectively over, and he has kept the United States in a state of readiness. You can read our earlier story on this here: Trump Says Iran War Effectively Over, US Locked and Loaded.
Nuclear arms will be the other big topic. The New START treaty, which limited the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia, lapsed in February 2026. Since then, the arsenals of the world’s nuclear powers have been uncapped for the first time in more than 50 years.
No deal expected
A senior US official told Reuters that no agreement is expected from the meeting. The official described it as the “beginning of a conversation” rather than a summit that will end with a deal. The three leaders are expected to talk about the shape of future arms control, not to sign anything.
Trump will discuss the war in Iran with both leaders, but he is expected to steer the conversation away from Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has been the subject of separate talks, including the recent round in Abu Dhabi, where the two sides agreed on a large prisoner exchange.
The world’s biggest nuclear arsenals
Russia holds the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, followed by the United States. Each country holds more than 5,000 warheads. China holds the third largest arsenal, with more than 600 warheads according to Pentagon estimates, and it has been building up its stockpile in recent years.
That is why the meeting matters even without a deal. The three leaders have never discussed arms control together before, and the old limits on nuclear weapons no longer apply. The talks in Shenzhen will be the first step in a process that could take months or years.
Read more of our Politics coverage.
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Jerusalem Post, The Hindu, The Economic Times, Reuters.
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Be respectful — comments are moderated.[…] The Dublin announcement also comes as wider diplomacy gathers pace. Read more: Trump, Putin and Xi to Hold First Trilateral Meeting in Shenzhen. […]