Trump, Xi and Putin will meet together for the first time in Shenzhen, and Ukraine is not on the table
The White House says Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will hold the first three-way meeting between the leaders of the US, China and Russia on Thursday, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen. Trump wants to talk about cutting nuclear arsenals and the war in Iran. US officials say Ukraine will not be discussed and no agreement is expected.
Live updates
- 12.55pm AWST SatLatest
US officials say no agreement is expected and Ukraine will not be discussed; the Kremlin rejects comparisons with Yalta.
- About 8am AWST Sat
The White House announces Trump, Xi and Putin will meet on Thursday on the sidelines of APEC in Shenzhen, the first meeting of the three.
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Three things to know
- It is a first: the three leaders were all at the 2019 G20 in Osaka but have never met as a group.
- The nuclear pitch is aimed at Beijing. The last US-Russia arms treaty, New START, expired in February, and Trump wants any new deal to include China, which has shown little interest.
- Trump will not have a separate meeting with Putin. He will have a working lunch and a separate meeting with Xi on the same day.
The leaders of the world’s three biggest nuclear powers will sit at one table for the first time next week.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales announced on Friday in Washington, Saturday morning AWST, that Trump, Xi and Putin will meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China’s southern technology hub. Wales said Trump would discuss “the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world”, among other topics.
A senior US official played down expectations, calling the meeting an “entry point” and “the first conversation” and saying no agreements are expected.
What will they actually talk about?
Nuclear weapons and Iran. A senior US official said Trump intends to raise the war in Iran with both leaders.
Ukraine is off the list. The official said Washington runs a separate track of talks with Kyiv and Moscow, and “China is not really a part of that track”. Export controls on American technology will not be negotiated either, officials said.
Why does China matter so much on nuclear weapons?
Because it is the one power outside the old US-Russia arms framework. New START, signed in 2010, capped deployed strategic warheads and launchers until it expired in February this year. Trump turned down a Russian offer to extend it by a year and has called for a new deal that brings China in.
The gap is large. The Pentagon estimates China has more than 600 warheads; the US and Russia each have more than 5,000. Beijing has so far refused to join disarmament talks.
What does Moscow say?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the meeting extremely significant. He also rejected comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference, saying anything agreed in Shenzhen could not be imposed on other countries.
Why does it matter for Australia?
Australia is one of APEC’s 21 economies, China is its largest trading partner and the US its closest ally. Any thaw on nuclear arms, or a push on the Iran war that has rattled fuel markets, lands directly on Canberra’s two most important relationships.
When did they last meet?
Trump and Putin last met face to face in Alaska in August 2025. Xi visited the White House in September this year, and Putin was in Beijing in May.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
August 2025Trump and Putin meet in Alaska
Their last face-to-face meeting before Shenzhen.
February 2026New START expires
The last treaty limiting US and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals lapses.
May 2026Putin visits Beijing
Xi and Putin meet in China.
September 2026Xi at the White House
Xi visits Washington.
13 November 2026Shenzhen meeting announced
The White House confirms the first three-way meeting of the US, Chinese and Russian leaders.
What happens next
Trump leaves Washington on Monday and arrives in the Philippines on Tuesday for the ASEAN summit before flying to Shenzhen. On Thursday he is due to have a working lunch and a separate meeting with Xi, then the three-way meeting with Xi and Putin. Elon Musk will travel with the US delegation but will not attend the official meetings, officials said.
Sources
- VNN
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