Trump To Press Putin And Xi On Nuclear Arms Cuts At Shenzhen Meeting
Trump plans to bring up nuclear arms cuts in a first meeting with the leaders of Russia and China. United States officials say they do not expect an agreement.
WASHINGTON, Nov 14 – President Donald Trump will push for nuclear arms cuts when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on Thursday, the White House said on Friday.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters on a call that Trump would discuss reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world. She said the weapons’ spread is something “President Trump believes is very dangerous.”
It will be the first meeting of its kind between the leaders of the three countries. The talks are set to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen on November 18-19. Trump leaves on Monday for a four-day trip to Asia, which also includes a stop in the Philippines.
But the White House is not expecting a breakthrough. A senior administration official said the meeting should be seen as a first step rather than a deal-making platform.
“We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” the official said.
The official said nuclear arms are a difficult subject for China. Still, the official said it is time for Beijing to join the main powers in serious talks, and described the meeting as the hoped-for start of a useful conversation.
Trump’s focus on nuclear weapons has upset China, which is hosting a summit meant to center on trade and business. Beijing has turned down past attempts to bring it into arms talks with Russia and the United States.
For years, China has said that Russia and the United States should talk directly, because they hold far larger stockpiles. It has resisted direct talks with Washington about its own program.
Russia has the largest number of stored nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and then China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Washington and Moscow ran out this year, leaving no treaty limiting the two largest arsenals.
It is not clear whether Russia or China plans to take part in any talks on nuclear arms cuts with Trump. The Chinese and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Moscow has shown some interest in a three-way meeting. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has said such a meeting could take place there if China, as host, organizes it and sufficient diplomatic preparations are completed.
Beijing has been more careful. Earlier this month, Beijing confirmed for the first time that it is discussing a historic meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump also plans to raise the United States’ and Israel’s war against Iran during the meeting, the senior official said. He is not expected to bring up Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The official said the United States has held numerous recent meetings with Russia on Ukraine, and China is not part of that process and therefore would not be the appropriate setting for such discussions.
Trump is not expected to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin during the trip. He is also not expected to discuss Ukraine’s access to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
According to the official, Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not attend the meeting with Xi and Putin.
Trump is also not expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while in Asia, the official said. The trip will mark Trump’s second visit to China this year. He has met Xi several times in 2026, and the two leaders have worked to maintain a trade truce.
China, Russia and the United States are all members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which brings together 21 economies from around the Pacific Rim.
