US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold the first-ever trilateral meeting in China on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Shenzhen next week, the White House said Friday. This would mark the first-ever trilateral meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China.
Trump to talk about reducing nuclear weapons
According to the US officials, Trump wants to talk about reducing nuclear weapons at the trilateral talks, describing nuclear proliferation as a dangerous development. “The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters.
A senior US official said the administration did not expect the trilateral meeting to produce a concrete agreement but viewed it as an opportunity to initiate discussions at the highest level. “We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement. I would characterise this as the entry point, the first conversation, certainly at the leader level, between these countries,” the official said.
The officials added that Trump is expected to raise the issue of Iran with Xi and Putin but does not plan to discuss Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine during the trilateral meeting. “I think the president does intend to talk about Iran in the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin,” a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on a call.
Trump-Xi bilateral meeting
Trump and Xi are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting followed by a working lunch before joining Putin for the joint engagement. However, no separate one-on-one meeting between Trump and the Russian President is currently planned.
Trump is scheduled to leave Washington on Monday and arrive in Manila on Tuesday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit before travelling to Shenzhen, China. During his visit to Manila, Trump is expected to participate in discussions on peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and hold a bilateral meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He will then travel to Shenzhen for the APEC Summit, where he is scheduled to attend a leaders’ dinner and participate in multilateral meetings before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk will accompany Trump on his China visit but will not participate in the meeting with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, US officials said.
The trilateral engagement with Xi and Putin is expected to be the final event of Trump’s Asia tour.
The officials also said that the controversy surrounding former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and allegations involving a woman suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence was not expected to feature in Trump’s discussions with Xi. “The situation with Nvidia should not really have any bearing on the trip,” a second senior US official said.
Washington also does not plan to discuss export controls on sensitive chip technology, an issue that was at the centre of the Nvidia controversy, the officials added. “We do not negotiate American export controls. These are national security matters that we develop in the administration… and we don’t expect it to figure at all in any of our conversations with the Chinese while we’re there,” the second official said.
(With ANI, AFP inputs)
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