Will Trump, Putin & Xi hold historic trilateral meeting in China?

US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are planning to hold a trilateral meeting in China next week, the White House has announced.

The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where Trump is scheduled to meet Xi for bilateral talks.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said Trump would conclude his China visit with a meeting involving the leaders of the three countries.

"The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation President Trump believes is very dangerous," Wales told reporters.

Iran could also feature in the discussions, although Ukraine is not expected to be on the agenda, according to the report. No agreement is expected to emerge from the meeting, a senior US official told news agencies.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for the two-day APEC summit, attended by leaders of its 21 member economies. He is also due to hold bilateral talks with Xi on Thursday.

The White House said the trilateral meeting would bring together the presidents of the United States, China and Russia. Moscow has confirmed the planned talks, while Beijing has yet to publicly comment on them.

Trump's visit to China will follow his participation in an ASEAN summit in the Philippines on Tuesday. The White House said the trip would advance US interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

Nuclear arms control on agenda

The proposed meeting comes months after the expiry in February of a nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia, leaving the world's two largest nuclear arsenals without major bilateral restrictions.

The United Nations has urged Washington and Moscow to agree on a new framework without delay.

Trump has previously suggested that a new arms control agreement could include China, which has been expanding its nuclear arsenal. Former US officials and analysts have warned that securing cooperation from both Beijing and Moscow could prove difficult and take years.

Xi hosted Putin and Trump separately in Beijing earlier this year, while Trump also welcomed the Chinese president to Washington in September.

Russia-China ties and wider tensions

China has emerged as a major trading partner for Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led to Western sanctions against Russia.

Beijing has also become a key buyer of Russian energy exports. Recent US decisions involving Russian diesel imports and the suspension of sanctions targeting major buyers of Russian oil and gas have raised concerns in Europe about Washington's approach towards Moscow.

Relations between Trump and Xi have also remained marked by disagreements over trade, competition in artificial intelligence and Taiwan, despite efforts by both leaders to project warmer ties.

The war in Iran could add another point of discussion. China is Tehran's largest oil buyer and trading partner, according to the report.

Chinese state media have so far reported that Xi will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the APEC summit but have not confirmed the proposed trilateral talks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier said there were signals confirming readiness for such a meeting.