Trump Open to Historic Three-Way Nuclear Talks With Xi and Putin in China Next Month

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A Meeting That Has Never Happened

On Monday, Trump told reporters outside the White House that he is open to a three-way meeting on nuclear weapons. He said he would take part if Xi wants it, and that other topics such as trade would probably come up as well.

The three men have met in pairs before, but never all together. A joint summit would be a major diplomatic first for a US president who has made direct talks with rivals a trademark of his approach.

The White House did not immediately comment, according to Reuters. Neither did the Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington.

Why Shenzhen, and Why Now

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit takes place in Shenzhen on November 18–19. China is hosting. Russia, China and the United States are all APEC members. Reuters reports that the White House has been discussing a leaders' meeting on denuclearization there for weeks.

Moscow has signaled interest for some time. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in early September that the idea had come up in talks between Putin and Xi. A few days later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump and Putin had "undoubtedly" discussed it by phone, AFP reported. On Monday the Kremlin again confirmed the topic had come up.

Trump has already agreed to attend the Shenzhen summit, Reuters reports. It would be his second trip to China this year.

The Nuclear Backdrop

The timing matters. The New START treaty, the last pact limiting US and Russian long-range nuclear forces, expired in February. For the first time in over 50 years, the two largest nuclear powers have no treaty limits on their strategic arsenals.

The US has long argued that any new deal must include China. Beijing has refused. After New START lapsed, its foreign ministry said China would not join disarmament talks "at this stage" and pointed to its much smaller arsenal.

Beijing's arsenal is small compared with Washington's and Moscow's, but it is growing quickly. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates China has at least 600 warheads and is adding about 100 a year, AFP reported. Critics say a refusal to negotiate while expanding at that pace leaves the world with little insight into where Beijing is heading.

China's foreign ministry repeated last week that joining trilateral talks would be neither fair, reasonable nor realistic. Whether Xi will sit at the table in Shenzhen is therefore an open question.

Ukraine Looms Over the Talks

The proposal comes at a tense moment. In recent days Trump announced a diesel-supply arrangement with Putin and signed an order easing sanctions on Russian fuel. The Treasury waiver reportedly runs until April 2027. Trump has linked the move partly to high fuel prices at home.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sharply criticized the decision. He told Axios it was "not fair and not honest" and warned that it would embolden Moscow. European officials have raised similar concerns.

Trump's reply was blunt. He said Russia has been "fine" on Ukraine, that Zelensky "is not helping matters much," and that someone else should negotiate on Ukraine's behalf. Supporters see this as a push to break a stalemate after years of war, while critics fear Kyiv and its European allies could be sidelined.

Hours earlier, Russia had launched one of its broadest air attacks in months, according to Reuters. It cut power to more than half a million households, and ten people were reported killed.

Reuters, citing the Wall Street Journal, also reports that Putin pitched the summit as a way to negotiate a settlement in Moscow's favor.

What to Watch

Nothing is scheduled yet. Trump has said a nuclear deal "doesn't have to be this year," and it is unclear how far any preparatory talks have gone.

The key questions are whether Xi agrees to a three-way format and whether Putin's terms on Ukraine can be reconciled with Washington's. Allies in Europe and Asia will also watch whether any deal is struck without them.

For Trump, a meeting would be a chance to pursue arms control and an end to the war in a single diplomatic move. Whether it delivers anything concrete will only become clear in Shenzhen.

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Sources

1. Reuters, "Trump says he is open to joining trilateral meeting with Xi, Putin" (19 Oct 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-he-is-open-joining-trilateral-meeting-with-xi-putin-2026-10-19/
2. South China Morning Post, "Xi, Trump and Putin may hold trilateral meeting at next Apec forum, Kremlin says": https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3366039/xi-trump-and-putin-may-hold-trilateral-meeting-next-apec-forum-kremlin-says
3. AFP via Korea Times, "Putin, Trump discussed idea of trilateral summit with Xi: Kremlin": https://koreatimes.co.kr/world/20260909/putin-trump-discussed-idea-of-trilateral-summit-with-xi-kremlin
4. Axios, "Zelensky tells Axios Trump's diesel deal with Putin 'not fair and not honest'": https://axios.com/2026/10/09/exclusive-zelensky-putin-trump-diesel-deal
5. AFP via Kuwait Times, "China shuns calls to enter nuclear talks after US-Russia treaty lapses": https://kuwaittimes.com/article/39457/top-stories/china-shuns-calls-to-enter-nuclear-talks-after-us-russia-treaty-lapses/amp
6. Reuters via Yahoo, "China says expiration of US-Russia arms treaty regrettable" (5 Feb 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/china-says-expiration-us-russia-083455285.html

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