Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are set to hold an unprecedented meeting next week, during the US president’s first overseas trip since the midterm elections.
The leaders of the United States, China and Russia are expected to meet on Thursday alongside next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub. The gathering will bring together the leaders of the world’s three largest nuclear powers.
Although the three-way encounter would be a historic moment, analysts have cautioned against expecting major breakthroughs. They say the meeting is likely to carry more symbolic weight than produce substantive agreements.
Trump plans to discuss the war with Iran with Xi and Putin, but is expected to avoid raising the issue of Ukraine, according to a senior US official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The trip also comes as controversy grows over Jensen Huang’s removal as Nvidia chief executive following reports of an extramarital affair with a woman alleged to be an agent of the Chinese government.
Beijing denies that Alice Huang is a spy. Her company, Megaspeed, was accused last year of sending Nvidia’s advanced computer chips into China.
Trump is unlikely to confront Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the matter. Administration officials also do not expect China to retaliate against any follow-up steps aimed at preventing the smuggling or use of advanced computer chips, they told reporters.
The administration maintains that the Nvidia controversy should not affect the trip, arguing that US export controls are not used as bargaining chips in negotiations with foreign governments.
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are preparing for an unprecedented meeting during the US president’s first foreign trip since the midterm elections
The US, Chinese and Russian leaders plan to meet Thursday alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub
Trump’s aides are considering ways to close gaps in existing trade restrictions, including tighter export licensing rules and measures to stop Chinese companies from accessing advanced chips remotely over the internet.
The White House confirmed plans for the three-way summit on Friday, as relations among the United States, China and Russia remain particularly complex.
Trump has pursued warmer ties with Xi since the two countries reached a truce in their brief trade war last year, despite disagreements over Iran and continuing tensions between the world’s leading economic powers.
He has taken a similar approach toward Putin, seeking to strengthen their relationship even as Russia’s leader continues his nearly five-year war against Ukraine and Moscow expands its military, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation with Iran.
Trump has argued that the meeting would give the three leaders an opportunity to discuss the US war with Iran and his ambition to negotiate a three-way agreement covering their nuclear arsenals.
The last nuclear arms agreement between Russia and the United States expired in February, ending limits on the two largest atomic stockpiles for the first time in more than 50 years. After New START lapsed, Trump rejected Russia’s proposal to extend the bilateral pact for another year and called instead for a “new, improved and modernized” agreement that would include China.
The trilateral talks are intended to mark the “beginning of hopefully a conversation” on nuclear disarmament that could become productive over time, the US official said. No agreement is expected to be announced at the meeting.
China’s arsenal, estimated by the Pentagon at more than 600 warheads, remains far smaller than those of the United States and Russia, which each possess more than 5,000. With Washington and Moscow holding vastly larger stockpiles, Beijing has shown little interest in entering a nuclear arms pact.
Trump plans to discuss the war with Iran with Xi and Putin but is expected to avoid Ukraine, according to a senior US official who spoke anonymously
The trip follows controversy surrounding Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese agent; Trump is not expected to raise the matter with Xi
Trump administration officials acknowledge that involving China in nuclear arms talks will be difficult. Still, the US official described the meeting as an opportunity for Beijing to “step up… to the adult table” on an issue of global importance.
By agreeing to host the talks, Xi may see an opportunity to demonstrate China’s growing influence and international standing.
For the Kremlin, the planned meeting offers a valuable chance to present Russia as a superpower with a status equal to that of Washington and Beijing.
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The three-way encounter could overshadow the wider APEC summit. The event will bring together 21 economies in Shenzhen, giving China an opportunity to showcase the rapidly developing coastal city that evolved from a small fishing village into a global technology and economic center within just a few decades.
At a broader level, the meeting could complicate China’s argument that a Cold War mentality in the West helped contribute to Russia’s war in Ukraine. It could also undermine Beijing’s criticism that the United States has weakened international institutions and treaties through the way it has conducted its war against Iran.
The trilateral talks may also conflict with China’s effort to portray itself as a champion of free trade at APEC, said Hoo Tiang Boon, a Chinese foreign policy professor at Nanyang Technological University.
“You sort of run counter to Chinese support of multilateralism,” he said.
Putin and Xi have long maintained a close relationship. Since Xi became president in 2013, the two men have met more than 40 times and referred to one another as “dear friend.”
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, left, and his wife Lori Huang arrive at the White House for a state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping
Huang was photographed several times with Alice Huang, the woman alleged to be a Chinese spy, beginning in 2024
Trump and Putin have met in person seven times, most recently in Alaska in August 2025.
Xi and Trump have held eight face-to-face meetings, including Xi’s state visit to Washington in September.
China is Moscow’s largest trading partner, with the relationship growing stronger since Putin sent Russian forces into Ukraine in 2022.
As the European Union and other Western countries moved to isolate Russia economically, China increased its purchases of Russian energy and became Moscow’s main supplier of critical technologies, including advanced components used by Russia’s weapons industry. Beijing has ignored Western calls to end those supplies.
Before Russia launched its war against Ukraine, Xi and Putin described the relationship between their countries as a “no-limits friendship.”
China has officially declared itself neutral in the conflict while arguing that Kyiv’s Western allies helped provoke Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly voiced support for Beijing’s position on matters involving Taiwan.
Trump recently reached a diesel agreement with Russia, lifting sanctions on Moscow and allowing millions of tons of the fuel to be sold.
The Nvidia chief was seen with Ms Huang at a computer industry trade show in Taipei in 2024. Source: LinkedIn/NetThunder
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the three-way meeting could become a forum for discussing a Ukraine agreement without Kyiv’s involvement
The president has blamed rising energy prices on Ukrainian attacks against Russian oil refineries. Analysts, however, say the increase in global crude prices is mainly linked to the war with Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced concern that the meeting could provide a venue for negotiating a possible Ukraine settlement behind Kyiv’s back.
Preparations for the summit have prompted comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into four military occupation zones and completed plans for creating the United Nations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the comparison, pointing out that any potential agreements reached in Shenzhen could not be imposed on other countries.
“It’s clear that a meeting between the leaders of countries such as Russia, China and the United States is extremely significant,” Peskov said.
“However, let’s not forget that the vision for a global order is that no one tries to impose any particular view of global order, and it should be based entirely on mutual benefit and mutual respect.”
