The White House: A “historic” meeting between Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping in China?

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping plan to hold a joint meeting on the sidelines of a summit hosted by China next week, according to the White House.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wells said that the historic meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China will be held during Trump's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Wells noted that President Trump "will discuss, among a number of topics, the issue of reducing nuclear weapons in the world," noting that "this proliferation, in President Trump's belief, poses an extreme danger."

The leaders of the largest nuclear powers in the world are expected to discuss the Iranian file. While the Ukraine file will not be discussed.

Moscow and Beijing have not issued any comment yet.

The Associated Press and Reuters quoted a prominent American official, without revealing his identity, as saying that an agreement is not expected to be reached after these talks.

Trump will arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday, to participate in the two-day summit between the 21 member states of the APEC forum.

Trump will also participate in bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, in their fourth meeting since the US President returns to office in 2025.

Wells said: "Trump will conclude his visit to China with a tripartite meeting between the President of the United States, the President of the People's Republic of China, and the President of the Russian Federation."

She added that Trump's trip, which will also include attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippines on Tuesday, is capable of securing "historic gains for the American people and strengthening American interests in the Indo-Pacific region."

The Nuclear Arms Control Treaty between the United States and Russia expired in February, leaving the world's two largest nuclear arsenals without major restrictions and marking the end of arms control cooperation that helped end the Cold War.

While the United Nations urged the two parties to agree on a new framework without delay, Trump said that he could replace the agreement with a better one that includes China, which continues to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

At the time, former senior US officials and analysts told the BBC that seeking cooperation from Beijing and Moscow could face major obstacles and take years.

Xi Jinping hosted both Putin and Trump separately in Beijing, just a few days apart, earlier this year, while the US president received his Chinese counterpart in Washington in September.

Beijing has become a major trading partner for Moscow since it began invading Ukraine in 2022, which led to the isolation of Russia and the imposition of Western sanctions on it.

But a controversial American agreement to import Russian diesel, and the suspension of sanctions targeting the largest importers of Russian oil and gas, including China, heightened European concern last month about what was seen as a softer approach by the Trump administration towards the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, Trump and Xi Jinping have sought to project warmer relations during summits in Beijing and Washington this year, although little progress has been shown on key issues such as trade, the competition for dominance in artificial intelligence, and Taiwan.

The Iran war was another point of contention. Beijing is the largest buyer of Iranian oil and its largest trading partner.