Trump meets Xi and Putin in Shenzhen on the sidelines of APEC summit

US President Donald Trump is holding a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen next week, according to what White House spokesperson Olivia Wells announced.

Wells explained that Trump will also hold a bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday afternoon, noting that the president "stated explicitly that he will address the issue of reducing nuclear weapons in the world, and it is an extremely dangerous issue."

A senior US official who refused to disclose his identity confirmed that Washington "does not expect to reach any agreement" from these meetings, describing the trilateral session as "a starting point, that is, the first meeting at the leaders' level between these countries."

The same official indicated that China possesses "the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world by a wide margin," affirming that the time has come for Beijing to "sit at the table of the major powers." He revealed that the Iran file will be present in the trilateral session, while it was explicitly confirmed that Ukraine is not on the agenda.

Before heading to China, Trump is visiting the Philippines to take part in the Quad summit in Manila, alongside the special US-ASEAN summit. He is also expected to conclude a trade agreement with Thailand.