President Donald Trump is open to a possible three-way meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with nuclear arms control and the war in Ukraine among the major issues that could shape discussions. “We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Monday, adding, “If President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it.” The Kremlin said Monday that the possibility of a meeting had come up in discussions, with next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China emerging as a potential venue, though no three-way meeting has been finalized. The prospect of bringing the three leaders together comes as Washington confronts separate disputes with Beijing and Moscow over trade, security, and the war in Ukraine.
A central challenge would be determining whether the three governments are prepared to discuss limits on their nuclear arsenals. The U.S. and Russia possess the world’s largest nuclear stockpiles, while China is expanding and modernizing its own nuclear forces. Beijing has historically resisted joining arms-control negotiations with Washington and Moscow, arguing that its arsenal remains substantially smaller than those of the other two powers. A meeting could provide an opportunity to discuss nuclear risks and possible future negotiations, but Trump’s remarks do not establish that the three countries have agreed to pursue a formal arms-control process.
