In a season when the old guardrails on the world's largest nuclear arsenals have quietly lapsed, the leaders of the United States, Russia and China are reported to be preparing to meet in Shenzhen on the margins of a regional trade summit. The gathering, announced by the White House, would bring together the three governments that hold most of the planet's nuclear weapons, at a moment when the last formal limit on American and Russian stockpiles has expired. Expectations are deliberately modest, since officials have signalled that no agreement is anticipated, but the very act of seating the th
White House Says Trump Will Meet Putin and Xi in Shenzhen to Discuss Nuclear Arms Reduction
The world's largest nuclear arsenals now stand without major guardrails
Mark
Why does this meeting matter if nobody expects a deal?
Mimi
Because the three leaders have apparently never held a meeting like it. The US, Russia and China hold the largest nuclear arsenals, and the last treaty limiting the US and Russian ones expired in February.
Mark
So there's currently nothing constraining those two?
Mimi
Nothing major, according to the reporting. It effectively ended the arms control co-operation that helped resolve the Cold War.
Luke
Worth being careful, though. The meeting is announced by the White House. Moscow and Beijing haven't commented, so we only have one side's account of it.
Mark
What is the American side saying it wants?
Mimi
Spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump will discuss reducing nuclear weapons, among other topics. Iran may come up too, but not Ukraine.
Luke
And that Iran and Ukraine detail is framed as what's understood, not stated on the record. I'd hold it loosely.
Mark
Why bring China in at all?
Mimi
Trump has said a better deal should include China, which has been building up its arsenal. The old treaty was between only two countries.
Luke
Whether China wants to join is unknown. Former officials told the BBC earlier that getting Beijing and Moscow on board could take years. Nothing here says that has changed.
El Pulso
- The last binding limit on the American and Russian arsenals expired in February, and nothing has yet taken its place.
- Trump's White House has announced a rare three-way summit with Putin and Xi, catching the wider diplomatic world off guard.
- Washington is pressing for China to join any future arms framework, even as Beijing has been steadily expanding its arsenal.
- A senior US official has already lowered expectations, saying no agreement is likely to emerge from the talks.
- Moscow and Beijing have not yet confirmed the meeting, leaving its very shape uncertain until the leaders are in the room.
In a season when the old guardrails on the world's largest nuclear arsenals have quietly lapsed, the leaders of the United States, Russia and China are reported to be preparing to meet in Shenzhen on the margins of a regional trade summit. The gathering, announced by the White House, would bring together the three governments that hold most of the planet's nuclear weapons, at a moment when the last formal limit on American and Russian stockpiles has expired. Expectations are deliberately modest, since officials have signalled that no agreement is anticipated, but the very act of seating the three together marks a tentative recognition that the arms race of the coming decades cannot be governed by two powers alone.
The White House has announced that Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping plan to meet next week in Shenzhen, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Together, the three leaders govern the countries holding the world's largest nuclear arsenals, and a meeting between them would be rare. Spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump intends to raise the reduction of nuclear weapons, which he regards as deeply dangerous, and that the trilateral would close his China visit.
The itinerary is already fixed. Trump lands in Shenzhen late Wednesday for the two-day APEC gathering, and will hold talks with Xi on Thursday, their fourth meeting since Trump returned to office. Before that, he will attend a summit of Southeast Asian nations in the Philippines.
Expectations are low. A senior American official told news agencies that no agreement is expected. Iran may be discussed, but Ukraine is not. Moscow and Beijing have yet to comment.
The urgency lies in the silence left behind. The New START treaty between Washington and Moscow expired in February, and the United Nations has urged both sides to agree a replacement quickly. Trump has said any new deal should include China, which adds a third party to an agreement once built between two. Former officials warn that bringing Beijing and Moscow into such a framework could take years. The first test is simply whether the three leaders share a room, and what they say afterward.
The White House announced that Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping plan to sit down together next week in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. It would be a meeting of the leaders of the United States, Russia and China, the three countries with the world's largest nuclear arsenals. Spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters it will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, known as Apec.
Wales said Trump intends to raise, among other topics, the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. In her words, the president believes their proliferation is very dangerous. She described the trilateral as the closing event of Trump's visit to China, to be held after the Apec meetings and his separate talks with Xi.
The schedule is already set out in some detail. Trump is due in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for the two-day summit of Apec's 21 member states. On Thursday he will hold bilateral talks with Xi, their fourth meeting since Trump returned to office in 2025. Before that, on Tuesday, he is to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asean, in the Philippines. Wales said the trip would secure historic wins for the American people and advance American interests in the Indo-Pacific.
Expectations for the nuclear discussion are low. An unnamed senior American official, speaking according to the news agencies AP and Reuters, said no agreement was expected to come out of the talks. It is understood that Iran may also come up among the three leaders, but Ukraine will not. Moscow and Beijing have yet to comment on the planned meeting.
The backdrop is the end of the last formal limit on the two largest arsenals. A nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia expired in February, leaving those stockpiles without major guardrails. The expiry effectively closed a chapter of arms control co-operation that helped bring the Cold War to a resolution. The United Nations has urged Washington and Moscow to agree a new framework without delay.
Trump has said he could replace the expired deal with a better one, and that it should include China, which has been building up its arsenal. That adds a third party to a framework that was originally built between two. When the treaty lapsed, former senior US officials and analysts told the BBC that securing the co-operation of Beijing and Moscow could run into major hurdles and take years.
What to watch now is whether the Kremlin and the Chinese government confirm the meeting and say how they view the agenda. The official line from Washington is that no deal is expected, so the first test will be whether the three leaders actually sit in the same room, and what, if anything, they say about it afterward.
Citas Notables
The president will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation he believes is very dangerous.— Olivia Wales, White House spokeswoman
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