President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, the White House announced Friday. This will be the first ever trilateral meeting between the leaders of the three countries.
The meeting, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in China, will focus on nuclear non-proliferation, a topic that Trump said could lead to a new deal between the world’s largest nuclear-armed states.
“The president has made it clear that he will discuss, among other topics, the reduction of nuclear weapons around the world. This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told reporters.
The last nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia expired in February.
China, for its part, has rapidly developed its nuclear arsenal.
Officials downplayed the prospect of reaching a new deal on nuclear issues, suggesting instead that negotiations would be a starting point.
“We do not expect to reach any agreement,” a senior US official said. “I would call this an entry point, a first conversation, certainly at the leadership level, between these countries.”
“So this is the start of a conversation that hopefully can be productive in the future,” the official continued.
The officials said world leaders also planned to discuss Iran.
A senior US official said Elon Musk is expected to make the trip with Trump, among others, but is not expected to attend the trilateral meeting.
Beijing and Moscow have not yet officially confirmed their participation in the trilateral summit.
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