Trump to meet Xi, Putin for three-way huddle on nuclear arms talks

United States President Donald Trump will push for nuclear arms reductions when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next week, the White House said Friday. 

A senior US official said no agreement is expected, Reuters reported.

What do we know?

The meeting is set for Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shenzhen and would be the first of its kind. 

"He will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation President Trump believes is very dangerous," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told reporters. Trump will also raise the US-Israeli war against Iran but is not expected to bring up Ukraine, the official told Reuters.

"We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement," the official said. "This is a difficult topic for China to address, but we do think it’s time for China to sort of step up, you know, to the adults’ table, if you will, and have adult conversations about adult things."

Where does China stand?

China has long resisted nuclear talks with Washington, arguing that Russia and the US, which hold larger arsenals, should speak directly. 

In October, its Foreign Ministry said it would be "neither fair, reasonable nor realistic to ask China to join the so-called trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage." 

Chinese state media have said Xi will hold "bilateral" talks at the summit but have not mentioned a trilateral meeting. Moscow and Beijing have yet to comment on the White House announcement.

The US-Russia New START treaty expired in February, leaving the world’s biggest arsenals without major limits. Russia has the most stored warheads, followed by the US and China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

Trump leaves Monday for a four-day Asia trip that includes a stop in the Philippines.