Trump, Putin and Xi to meet in China next week, White House says
US President Donald Trump is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next week, the White House said on Friday.
According to the White House, the trilateral meeting is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen in southeastern China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told reporters that the president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. Trump believes this proliferation is very dangerous, she said.
According to the AFP news agency, US officials said Trump is also expected to discuss the Iran war, but not Ukraine.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington has a whole other track of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow aimed at bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine. China is not really a part of that track, the official said, so it does not seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there.
Moscow and Beijing have so far not commented on the reported meeting.
Trump is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Xi in Shenzhen.
The president is set to depart Washington on Monday for the Philippines, where he is due to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations before making his way to Shenzhen.
The 2026 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will bring together leaders from 21 member economies from November 18 to 19. According to APEC, the summit will focus on key issues including artificial intelligence, trade tensions and economic growth.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said Beijing was looking forward to the event and to achieving more practical results with partners in areas such as AI, trade, connectivity and the digital economy.
