Perspective: A new kind of White House press secretary

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping are set to convene on the sidelines of an upcoming summit in China, according to the White House. The historic gathering between the leaders of the United States, Russia, and China is scheduled to occur as Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen, a spokeswoman for the White House confirmed to reporters.

President Trump has expressed his intention to discuss nuclear disarmament and the dangers of nuclear proliferation during the meeting. Though Iran may also be a topic of discussion, Ukraine is not expected to be among the subjects. The identities of both Moscow and Beijing remain undisclosed. No agreement is anticipated to emerge from the talks, according to an unnamed senior US official.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for a two-day summit involving 21 member states. He will also engage in bilateral discussions with Xi on Thursday, marking their fourth meeting since Trump assumed office in 2025. The spokeswoman for the White House stated that Trump's visit to China aims to achieve significant accomplishments for the American people and advance American interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

The nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia lapsed in February, leaving the world's largest nuclear arsenals without significant safeguards and effectively bringing an end to the arms control cooperation that helped resolve the Cold War. The United Nations has urged both countries to establish a new framework without delay.

Trump has indicated his willingness to replace the treaty with a more comprehensive agreement that includes China, a country that has been expanding its own nuclear arsenal. Former high-ranking US officials and analysts have cautioned that engaging Beijing and Moscow could prove challenging and may take years. Xi Jinping has separately hosted both Putin and Trump in Beijing within days of each other earlier this year, while Trump hosted Xi in Washington in September.

Chinese state media reported on Friday that Xi would participate in bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Apec summit, according to a foreign ministry spokesman, but has not confirmed the trilateral meeting. Russian state news agency Tass reported earlier this month that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were "signals confirming readiness" for such talks at the summit.