Trump to raise nuclear-arms cuts with Putin, Xi on Thursday, White House says

The White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next week to discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales stated that the President believes the proliferation of nuclear weapons is very dangerous. The meeting is expected to take place on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shenzhen.

The Jerusalem Post reports the summit will follow a scheduled bilateral meeting and working lunch between Trump and Xi on Thursday afternoon, November 19, though the White House did not specify an exact time for the trilateral discussion. Senior U.S. officials cautioned that the meeting is intended as an entry point or first conversation rather than a venue to reach an agreement.

While the U.S. and Russia have long experience with arms control negotiations, one official suggested Beijing could be a more difficult participant.

Free Malaysia Today reports that Trump's insistence on focusing the meeting on nuclear arms reductions has annoyed China, which prefers the summit to focus on trade and commerce. According to The Korea Times, there are no plans for Trump to engage with North Korea during his upcoming trip to Asia. The Jerusalem Post also noted that the war in Iran is among the issues on the meeting's agenda.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Jerusalem Post, Free Malaysia Today, The Korea Times, The Age — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.