Trump, Xi and Putin to hold trilateral meeting in Shenzhen

The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will participate in a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Shenzhen, China. The summit, which is set to take place during the president's upcoming diplomatic tour, will focus on key geopolitical issues, with officials indicating that Iran will be a primary topic of discussion.

A senior US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the administration's intent to raise the issue of Iran during the three-way talks. However, the official clarified that the ongoing war in Ukraine will not be on the agenda. Washington maintains a separate, dedicated track of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow regarding the conflict, and the official noted that it would not be appropriate to include China in those specific discussions.

The planned meeting has drawn comparisons to the historic 1945 Yalta summit, where Franklin D Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin established the post-Second World War order in Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed significant concern regarding the Shenzhen summit, warning that it could signal a 21st-century redistribution of spheres of influence among major powers.

The Trump administration has recently taken steps to reassert American influence across the Western hemisphere, most notably with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Despite these assertive foreign policy actions, the administration maintains that the Shenzhen meeting is intended to address specific security concerns rather than a broad carving up of global territory.

President Trump is scheduled to depart Washington on Monday. His itinerary includes a stop in the Philippines on Tuesday to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) before he proceeds to Shenzhen. During his time in China, Trump will hold a bilateral working lunch and meeting with President Xi on Thursday. This will be their fourth meeting since Trump returned to power last year. Notably, there is no scheduled one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin during this trip.

The delegation accompanying the president will include Elon Musk, though officials stated that the Tesla and SpaceX boss will not participate in the trilateral meeting with Xi and Putin. Furthermore, the administration has sought to distance the diplomatic visit from recent domestic controversies. Officials confirmed that the resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, following allegations of an affair with an alleged Chinese spy, is not expected to be a subject of conversation.

A second US official emphasised that the government has no plans to discuss export controls on sensitive chip technology during the meetings in China. The official described these controls as national security matters developed internally by the administration, stating that they do not expect the topic to feature in any discussions with Chinese counterparts during the visit.