Trump, Xi and Putin Set for Historic Three-Way Talks on Sidelines of APEC Summit in China

The White House says Trump intends to raise the Iran war and nuclear arms during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit next week.

Published On 14 Nov 202614 Nov 2026

The leaders of the United States, China and Russia are preparing for an unprecedented three-way meeting next week, according to the White House.

US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will convene on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub, the White House assistant press secretary confirmed in an official announcement.

The discussions come nine months after the last nuclear arms agreement between Washington and Moscow expired, leaving the world’s two largest atomic powers without limits on their arsenals for the first time in more than half a century.

What is on the agenda?

Trump has described the encounter as an opportunity for all three nations to strike an agreement on nuclear stockpiles.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) lapsed in February. Trump subsequently rejected Moscow’s offer to extend it for another year and called instead for a “new, improved and modernized” accord that would bring China into the framework.

Expectations for a breakthrough remain modest. “We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” a senior Trump administration official told the Reuters news agency, characterising the gathering as the beginning of a conversation.

Russia possesses the largest number of nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and then China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Trump intends to raise the war in Iran with Xi and Putin, but will avoid addressing Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, according to a senior US official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Elon Musk will accompany Trump to China but will not take part in the meeting, the official added. Trump is also not expected to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the Asian tour.

Comparisons to the Yalta Conference

The planned summit has invited comparisons to the 1945 Yalta Conference, at which the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union laid out the post-war order.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the analogy, noting that any accords reached in Shenzhen could not be imposed on others, though he still described the meeting as “extremely significant”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concern that the gathering could serve as a venue for negotiating a settlement to the war in Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement.

Trump has sought closer relations with both leaders despite a brief trade war with China last year and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, where Washington is attempting to broker a resolution.

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