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US President Donald Trump is set to meet with his Russian and Chinese counterparts Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in China next week, the White House said on Friday.
The trilateral meeting is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen in southeastern China on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, according to the White House.
“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,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told reporters.
Trump is also expected to discuss the Iran war but not Ukraine, US officials said, per the AFP news agency.
A senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity said Washington had a “whole other track” of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow aimed at bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine.
“China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there,” they said.
Moscow and Beijing have so far not commented on the reported meeting.
Trump is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Xi in Shenzhen.
The president is set to depart Washington on Monday for the Philippines, where he is due to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations before making his way to Shenzhen.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is slated to join Trump in China but will not be involved in the meeting with Xi and Putin, officials said.
APEC
The 2026 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will bring together leaders from 21 member economies from 18 to 19 November.
According to APEC, the summit will focus on key issues including artificial intelligence, trade tensions and economic growth.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said Beijing was looking forward to the event and to achieving “more practical results” with partners in areas such as AI, trade, connectivity and digital economy.
Additional sources • AFP