On a Thursday in Shenzhen, the leaders of the three largest nuclear powers are set to sit in one room for the first time in history, on the margins of an Asia-Pacific summit that was never built for such a moment. Few expect agreements to emerge, but the encounter arrives at a moment when the last binding limits on the great arsenals have lapsed, and a conversation that might have been unthinkable a few years ago has become a quiet necessity. Whether it becomes a first step toward restraint or simply a stage for old rivalries, with Ukraine watching from outside the room, remains the open quest
Trump, Xi and Putin Plan Unprecedented Trilateral Meeting on APEC Sidelines in Shenzhen
The leaders of the world's three biggest nuclear powers, in one room for the first time
Mark
Why does a meeting with no expected agreements still matter?
Mimi
Because of who is in the room. It's the first time these three leaders have met together, and they head the three biggest nuclear powers. New START expired in February, so the two largest arsenals have no caps for the first time in over fifty years.
Mark
And Trump wants China included?
Mimi
He called for a new, modernized deal with China in it. But China has about 600-plus warheads by Pentagon estimates, against more than 5,000 each for the U.S. and Russia, and it has shown little interest.
Luke
Worth noting that 600 figure is a Pentagon estimate, not a number Beijing has confirmed. And the idea that this starts nuclear talks comes from one anonymous U.S. official.
Mark
What about Ukraine? The official said Trump will steer away from it.
Mimi
Yet Zelenskyy fears a deal could be discussed behind Kyiv's back, and Edgard Kagan reads Putin's interest as signaling that decisions on Ukraine are being made without Kyiv and Europe.
Luke
That's Kagan's interpretation, and Zelenskyy's concern is a worry, not a report of what will happen. Nothing in the reporting says Ukraine is on the agenda.
Mark
Does China come out ahead?
Mimi
Maybe in prestige. But Hoo Tiang Boon says it cuts against China's pitch as a defender of free trade and multilateralism at APEC.
Luke
Also, the reporters say Beijing was the least certain of the three about the summit's value, so even hosting isn't a clear win.
Mark
Is the Yalta comparison fair?
Mimi
Peskov rejected it, saying whatever is agreed in Shenzhen can't be imposed on others. Whether that holds will depend on what, if anything, comes out of the room.
Der Puls
- Three rival nuclear superpowers are preparing to meet face to face for the first time, a gathering that instantly unsettles old alliances.
- New START expired in February with no successor, leaving the world's largest arsenals without caps for the first time in over fifty years.
- Kyiv fears that deals about its war could be struck in Shenzhen without it, while Moscow seeks the prestige of sitting beside Washington and Beijing.
- Officials are signaling low expectations, with no agreements planned and talks framed only as a possible beginning, so the outcome will be judged by whether anything moves beyond a first conversation.
On a Thursday in Shenzhen, the leaders of the three largest nuclear powers are set to sit in one room for the first time in history, on the margins of an Asia-Pacific summit that was never built for such a moment. Few expect agreements to emerge, but the encounter arrives at a moment when the last binding limits on the great arsenals have lapsed, and a conversation that might have been unthinkable a few years ago has become a quiet necessity. Whether it becomes a first step toward restraint or simply a stage for old rivalries, with Ukraine watching from outside the room, remains the open question of the season.
The White House has confirmed that Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin plan to sit down together on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. No such meeting has ever taken place, and it would bring together the leaders of the world's three biggest nuclear powers. Analysts expect more symbolism than substance, and a senior U.S. official said the gathering is meant to open nuclear talks, not to produce agreements. Trump intends to raise the war with Iran but will steer clear of Ukraine.
The nuclear backdrop is stark. New START expired in February, removing limits on the two largest arsenals for the first time in more than half a century. Russia wanted a one-year extension, but Trump refused and called for a modernized pact that includes China, which has shown little interest. China's arsenal is estimated at over 600 warheads, while the United States and Russia each hold more than 5,000, a gap that makes such a deal difficult.
Each leader comes with their own aims. Xi may welcome the chance to display China's rising stature, while Putin wants to be seen as the equal of Washington and Beijing. A former U.S. ambassador argues that Putin's central goal is to suggest that he and Xi are shaping decisions on Ukraine with Trump, something Ukrainians and Europeans resent. Beijing appears the least sure the summit is worth the effort, since the trilateral could overshadow the 21-economy APEC gathering in the technology hub city and sit awkwardly with China's claims to champion free trade and multilateralism.
The ties among these leaders are long and tangled. Xi and Putin have met more than 40 times and address each other as "dear friend," while Trump has met Putin seven times and Xi eight. China has become Russia's top trading partner and main supplier of key technologies since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy worries the summit could become a venue for striking a deal over his country's head, and the Kremlin has dismissed comparisons to the Yalta Conference, noting that understandings reached in Shenzhen could not bind others. What comes next will show whether Ukraine's future is discussed and whether nuclear talks move beyond a first meeting.
The White House confirmed on Friday that the presidents of the United States, China and Russia plan to sit down together on Thursday, on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. No meeting of Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin has happened before, and it would put the leaders of the world's three biggest nuclear powers in one room.
Analysts quoted in the Associated Press report say the moment will carry more symbolism than substance, and that expectations for a breakthrough are low. A senior U.S. official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the meeting is expected to serve as a start to nuclear talks among the three and that no agreements are expected to be announced. Trump does plan to raise the U.S. war with Iran with Xi and Putin, the official said, but will steer away from Ukraine.
The nuclear question has a deadline behind it. The last arms pact between Russia and the United States, New START, expired in February, lifting caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than 50 years. Russia had asked to extend the deal another year. Trump refused and called instead for a new, improved and modernized agreement that includes China. The numbers explain why that is hard. The Pentagon estimates Beijing's arsenal at more than 600 warheads, while the United States and Russia are each thought to hold more than 5,000. China has shown little interest in a pact.
Each leader arrives with a different calculation. Xi, by agreeing to host, may see a chance to show off China's growing clout. For the Kremlin, the meeting is a coveted opportunity to be seen as a superpower on par with Washington and Beijing. Edgard Kagan, a former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Putin's key aim was to signal that he and Xi are talking with Trump in a way that suggests they are making decisions on Ukraine, something Ukrainians and Europeans dislike. Beijing, by the account of the reporters, was the party least certain about the summit's value.
The meeting could also cut against China's own messaging. APEC brings 21 economies to Shenzhen, a coastal city that grew from a small fishing village into a global technology hub in a few decades, and the trilateral could overshadow it. Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University, said it runs counter to China's support for multilateralism and could undercut its push to present itself as a defender of free trade. It could also muddy Beijing's argument that a Cold War mentality in the West helped cause Russia's war on Ukraine, and its criticism that the U.S. has undermined international institutions and treaties in how it has fought Iran.
The leaders know one another well in pairs. Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times since Xi became president in 2013 and call each other "dear friend." Trump and Putin have met face to face seven times, most recently in Alaska in August 2025. Trump and Xi have held eight in-person talks, including Xi's September state visit to Washington. Trump has embraced Xi since a truce in their short-lived trade war last year, despite disagreements over the Iran war, and he has sought a closer relationship with Putin even as Russia's war on Ukraine nears its fifth year and Moscow deepens military, intelligence and diplomatic ties with Iran.
China is Russia's top trading partner, and that bond has tightened since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. As the EU and the West tried to isolate Russia economically, China bought more Russian energy and became its main supplier of key technologies, including high-tech components for its weapons industries, ignoring Western demands to stop. Before the invasion, Xi and Putin declared a "no-limits friendship." China officially calls itself neutral on the war while blaming Kyiv's Western allies for provoking Russia. Moscow has repeatedly backed Beijing's policy on Taiwan. Trump recently struck a diesel deal that waives sanctions on Moscow and allows the sale of millions of tons of fuel. He has blamed high energy prices on Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, though analysts say the Iran war is the main driver of higher crude prices.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced concern that the meeting could become a venue for discussing a Ukraine deal behind Kyiv's back. The planning has drawn comparisons to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed that comparison, noting that any understandings reached in Shenzhen cannot be enforced on others. What to watch after Thursday is whether anything said on Ukraine shifts the diplomacy, and whether the nuclear talks get any further than a first conversation.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Any potential agreements reached in Shenzhen can't be enforced on others, and Yalta comparisons don't hold.— Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman
A trilateral meeting runs counter to Chinese support of multilateralism.— Hoo Tiang Boon, Nanyang Technological University
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