The leaders of the world’s three largest nuclear powers could sit down together in China next week, in a meeting that would have no modern precedent. US President Donald Trump is pushing for a three-way summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, with the future of nuclear weapons at the top of the agenda.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Tuesday that Washington was working to arrange the meeting during Mr Trump’s visit to China. He said officials were still organising the session and shaping it in the right way, and that an announcement could follow fairly soon. No final decision has been made, and neither Beijing nor Moscow has confirmed that the meeting will go ahead.
According to the Associated Press, Mr Trump wants the three leaders to discuss nuclear weapons and the growing dangers of proliferation. Mr Rubio said the president believed the countries should confront the state of the world’s nuclear arsenals at a time of rising global tension.
The gathering would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit, which is scheduled for 18 and 19 November in Shenzhen. Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday, before flying back to Washington from Florida, that he expected one of his meetings there to bring Mr Putin and Mr Xi together, and that nuclear disarmament would be among the subjects discussed. Reports by Reuters also say he wants the talks to cover the war in Iran.
The idea has been building for weeks. Mr Trump said in October that he was open to three-way talks on nuclear disarmament, and the Kremlin said on 21 October that a first-of-its-kind trilateral meeting was being prepared. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Mr Putin first suggested the idea to Mr Trump in a phone call on 9 October.
But serious obstacles remain. The Wall Street Journal has reported that American, Chinese and Russian officials have yet to agree on the format or the agenda, with Washington seeking an open exchange and Beijing favouring a tightly scripted session. China’s foreign ministry has said it is in contact with the relevant parties about a meeting, without committing to one, and Beijing has long resisted joining trilateral talks on nuclear arms control.
The stakes are high. The last treaty between Russia and the United States limiting strategic offensive arms, New START, expired in February 2026, according to reports, and China has never been part of such an agreement. Bringing all three nuclear powers into one negotiation would mark a sharp break with decades of two-way arms control.
Foreign policy experts have questioned whether the three leaders could reach anything substantive in Shenzhen, given their competing interests — above all Russia’s war in Ukraine and the deep rivalry between Washington and Beijing. For now, the meeting remains a possibility rather than a certainty, with further details expected in the days before Mr Trump travels to China. If it does happen, it would be the first time the three leaders have met together to talk about the world’s most dangerous weapons.
