Trump, Xi, and Putin to Meet in Shenzhen for APEC Summit Talks

The United States, China, and Russia will hold a joint meeting on Thursday in Shenzhen, China, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The White House confirmed the plans on Friday, marking the first gathering of the heads of the world's largest nuclear powers since the New START treaty expired in February.

President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir Putin will use the session to discuss a potential three-way agreement on nuclear stockpiles. The meeting will also address the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. A senior U.S. official said Trump plans to talk with Xi and Putin about the conflict but will avoid discussing the war in Ukraine.

The last nuclear arms pact between the United States and Russia expired earlier this year, removing caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in over half a century. Trump rejected a one-year extension requested by Moscow at the time. He called instead for a modernized deal that includes China. A senior U.S. official briefed reporters that the Shenzhen meeting is intended to start these negotiations, with no agreements expected to be announced.

Pentagon estimates place China's arsenal at more than 600 warheads. That number is far smaller than the inventories held by the United States and Russia, which each possess more than 5,000 warheads. China has shown little interest in joining a nuclear pact in the past. However, analysts suggest Xi may view the summit as a chance to demonstrate China's growing global prestige.

The Kremlin sees the meeting as an opportunity to position Russia as a superpower on par with Washington and Beijing. Edgard Kagan, a former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia and current fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted the symbolic weight of the gathering. He said, "I think the key for Putin was that this was very much about signaling a desire to talk to the president and talk to Chairman Xi in a way that suggests that they’re making decisions on Ukraine, which obviously the Ukrainians and the Europeans don’t like."

The trilateral meeting may overshadow the broader APEC summit, which brings 21 economies to the coastal city. Shenzhen has transformed from a fishing village into a major technology hub. Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University, warned the gathering could complicate China's stance on free trade. He stated, "You sort of run counter to Chinese support of multilateralism."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concern that the three leaders might discuss a potential deal regarding Ukraine without consulting Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed comparisons to the 1945 Yalta Conference. He said, "It’s clear that a meeting between the leaders of countries such as Russia, China and the United States is extremely significant," but added that no one should impose a specific view of global order on others.

The three leaders have a history of bilateral meetings. Trump and Putin have met seven times, most recently in Alaska in August 2025. Xi and Trump have held face-to-face talks eight times, including a state visit to Washington in September. Xi and Putin have met more than 40 times since 2013. The APEC summit begins next week in Shenzhen.