Trump to hold trilateral talks with Xi, Putin on nuclear arms cuts

The White House says US President Donald Trump will be meeting with President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit next week, where Trump is eyeing to discuss the reduction of nuclear arms.

Donald Trump on Monday is departing the US for a four-day Asia trip which also includes a stop in the Philippines.

While attending a three-way summit with his Russian and Chinese counterparts in Shenzhen next Thursday, Trump is expected to raise cutting nuclear arms globally, the proliferation of which is deemed dangerous by the US president, according to White House spokesperson Olivia Wales.

The Associated Press reported Trump had insisted such a meeting would provide an opportunity for the three heads of state to reach an agreement on the issue and discuss the Iran war. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, however, is not slated to be part of the agenda, officials said.

Eduardo Castillo from the AP said, "I am in Shenzhen, in southern China, where the APEC forum will take place in coming days. The city is getting ready to welcome the leaders of the Asia Pacific region. This gathering will bring together the leaders of 21 economies to talk about trade, economic growth and regional cooperation. But the meeting also takes place in a moment of geopolitical tensions and global competition."

"In fact, one meeting that is creating expectation is a potential one between the leaders of the US, Russia and China. If that happens, it will be an unprecedented gathering between the world's biggest nuclear powers."

The discussions follow the February 2026 expiration of the last standing bilateral nuclear pact between Washington and Moscow, which left a regulatory void.

The Pentagon's estimates put China's current nuclear stockpile at roughly over 600 warheads.

Authorities in Beijing have repeatedly rebuffed US attempts to join the trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage, arguing that Russia and the United States, which hold the largest arsenals of such weapons, should speak directly.

A senior Trump administration official acknowledged the topic was difficult for the Chinese side to address and expected no agreement coming out of the talks, but added it is the beginning of hopefully a conversation that can be productive going forward.

It is reported that Trump is taking the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk, with him during the Asia tour.

The visit also coincides with the fallout of the scandal of Trump's tech ally and Nvidia's co-founder Jensen Huang who was ousted as the CEO of the US chipmaker after a string of his extramarital affairs came to light.

The Foreign Ministry denies that business executive Alice Huang, one of Huang's suspected paramours, is a Chinese spy.

Washington believes the matter should not have any bearing during Trump's third in-person meeting with President Xi this year, which will come prior to their joint meeting with Putin.

The US government also does not expect retaliation from Beijing for its follow-up actions to prohibit China from smuggling or using advanced computer chips, according to officials.