Trump, Xi and Putin set for unprecedented trilateral meeting in China

US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold an unprecedented trilateral meeting on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. The discussions could potentially cover nuclear stockpiles and the ongoing war with Iran, the White House confirmed on Friday. The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, would bring together the leaders of the world's three largest nuclear powers at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainties and growing competition over technology. Trump has said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss the US war with Iran and his proposal for a three-way agreement on nuclear weapons stockpiles. However, a US official said the American president does not plan to discuss the Ukraine war with Xi and Putin during the meeting, although Iran is expected to feature in the discussions. The proposed summit comes amid shifting relations between Washington, Beijing and Moscow. Trump has sought to strengthen ties with Xi following a truce in their trade dispute last year, despite differences over the US military campaign against Iran and other tensions between the two economic powers. He has also sought to improve relations with Putin, even as Russia continues its nearly five-year-old war against Ukraine and deepens its military, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation with Iran. Nuclear arms control is expected to be another key issue. The last nuclear arms agreement between the US and Russia expired in February, ending restrictions on the two countries' nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than half a century. The treaty, known as New START, had limited the strategic nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries. Trump rejected Russia's proposal to extend the agreement by another year after its expiry and instead called for “a new, improved and modernised” deal that would also include China. However, Beijing has shown little interest in joining a nuclear arms agreement, with its arsenal considerably smaller than those of Washington and Moscow. Pentagon estimates put China's nuclear stockpile at more than 600 warheads, compared with more than 5,000 each for the US and Russia. Meanwhile, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is also expected to accompany Trump on his China visit, a US official said. However, Musk will not participate in the trilateral meeting with Xi and Putin.

The three leaders' expected interaction will take place as part of the broader APEC summit, which will bring together representatives of 21 member economies. Collectively, these economies account for approximately 62 per cent of global GDP and around half of global trade. Although economic cooperation remains the forum's primary focus, the presence of the three major powers is expected to add a significant geopolitical dimension to the gathering. The Russia-Ukraine war, nuclear disarmament, US-China trade tensions and disputes in the Indo-Pacific are among the wider issues likely to shape discussions on the sidelines of the summit.