U.S. President Donald Trump plans to discuss nuclear arms reduction and Iran with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Nov. 19 Shenzhen meeting, The Straits Times reported.
The White House described the gathering as the first meeting among the three countries’ leaders, according to the outlet. It is scheduled on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump regards the spread of nuclear weapons as dangerous and wants reductions in worldwide arsenals included in the talks, The Straits Times reported.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity during a call with reporters, said Trump intends to raise Iran, AFP reported. The official said Washington is pursuing a separate negotiation with Kyiv and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. China was not really part of that track, the official said, so the war is not expected to be discussed in Shenzhen.
Trump is also scheduled to have a working lunch with Xi. Officials said no separate one-on-one meeting with Putin is planned, according to The Straits Times. The White House had previously outlined the bilateral and three-leader meeting formats in its announcement of Trump’s planned APEC talks.
Trump is scheduled to leave Washington on Nov. 16 and travel to the Philippines for an ASEAN summit before going to Shenzhen, the outlet reported. The three-leader meeting is set for Nov. 19.
