Trump, Xi and Putin to hold first three-way summit in China

Leaders of the United States, China and Russia are set to hold an unprecedented three-way meeting next week, the White House has said. US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub, the White House assistant press secretary confirmed in an announcement. The talks will be held nine months after the last nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow expired , leaving the world’s two countries with the largest atomic arsenals without caps for the first time in more than 50 years.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) lapsed in February. Trump then rejected Russia’s proposal to extend it for another year and demanded a “new, improved and modernised” deal that includes China. Expectations are low.

“We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” a senior Trump administration official told the Reuters news agency, describing the meeting as the start of a conversation.