US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold their first-ever three-way meeting next week at a summit in Shenzhen, China.
The White House confirmed on Friday that the three leaders would meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southern Chinese city.
According to US officials, the meeting is expected to focus on reducing global nuclear weapons stockpiles, while Trump also plans to raise the conflict involving Iran.
However, the US president is not expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine during the trilateral talks.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump believed the spread of nuclear weapons posed a serious threat to global security.
“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,” she said.
A senior US official also confirmed that Iran would feature in the discussions with Putin and Xi.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was pursuing a separate diplomatic process involving Ukraine and Russia, making it unlikely that the conflict would be discussed at the three-way meeting.
The official explained that China was not directly involved in those negotiations, which have included recent discussions between US envoys, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The planned meeting has drawn comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union discussed the post-Second World War settlement and the future of Europe.
Zelensky has expressed concern that the Shenzhen meeting could become a modern version of Yalta, warning against what he described as a possible redistribution of global spheres of influence by powerful nations.
The comparison comes as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen American influence internationally, particularly across the Western Hemisphere.
However, the proposed three-way meeting is not expected to include a separate bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin.
Trump is scheduled to hold a working lunch and bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday. It will be their fourth meeting since the US president returned to office last year.
US officials have also ruled out discussions about Nvidia and allegations surrounding its chief executive, Jensen Huang, during Trump’s visit.
They said the controversy was not expected to affect the president’s discussions with Xi.
Washington also does not plan to negotiate its export controls on advanced chip technology, describing the restrictions as national security matters.
Meanwhile, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is expected to accompany Trump on the trip but will not participate in the meeting involving the three leaders.
Trump is scheduled to leave Washington on Monday and arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit before travelling to Shenzhen.
The proposed meeting is expected to attract global attention, given the influence of the three countries on international security, trade and geopolitical relations.
