US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold their first-ever trilateral meeting during a summit in Shenzhen, China, next Thursday.
The White House confirmed the planned meeting on Friday, saying the three leaders would meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the southern Chinese city.
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White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump intended to discuss reducing nuclear weapons, describing their proliferation as a major global security concern.
US officials also disclosed that the conflict involving Iran would feature in the discussions, but the war in Ukraine was not expected to be raised.
A senior US official, speaking anonymously to reporters, said Trump intended to discuss Iran with Xi and Putin during the meeting.
The official explained that Washington was pursuing a separate diplomatic process involving Kyiv and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, making China’s participation in that discussion unnecessary.
The planned gathering has drawn comparisons with the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union discussed the post-Second World War settlement and Europe’s territorial arrangements.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern that the Shenzhen meeting could become a modern version of Yalta, potentially allowing major powers to determine their respective spheres of influence.
Trump is also scheduled to hold a separate bilateral meeting and working lunch with Xi on Thursday.
It will be their fourth meeting since the US President returned to office last year.
However, the White House said Trump was not scheduled to hold a separate one-on-one meeting with Putin.
US officials also ruled out discussions about the reported Nvidia controversy involving the company’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, and alleged links to a Chinese spy.
They said the issue would not affect Trump’s visit and that sensitive American chip export controls were not expected to feature in talks with Chinese officials.
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk will accompany Trump on the trip but will not participate in the meeting involving Xi and Putin.
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Trump is expected to depart Washington on Monday and arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit before travelling to Shenzhen.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
