China's liquid-fueled intercontinental strategic nuclear missiles DongFeng-5C, which have a global strike range, pass through Tian'anmen Square during the V-Day military parade on September 3, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Zhao Wenyu/China News S
The leaders of the world’s three largest nuclear powers will sit down next week for a historic meeting while they are all in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Big picture view:
Thursday’s summit of top nuclear nations is unprecedented, but many analysts do not expect any major breakthrough to come from it. They described it as an event that is more about symbolism than substance.
What we know:
Both the White House and Kremlin have confirmed the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin while they attend the 21-nation APEC summit in Shenzhen. The conference was meant to be a chance for China to show off how Shenzhen grew from a small fishing village to a global tech powerhouse in just a few decades, but that opportunity may take a backseat to the nuclear talks.
What they're saying:
While knowing everything that ends up being discussed between the leaders when they finally meet is difficult to predict beforehand, a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that Trump will likely steer conversations away from the Ukraine war.
What they're saying:
The official does not expect any new deals to be announced and described the gathering as the "beginning of, hopefully, a conversation" on nuclear disarmament "that can be productive going forward."
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By the numbers:
The U.S. and Russia are believed to have more than 5,000 nuclear warheads each, while China is suspected of having over 600, according to Pentagon estimates. While the U.S. and Russia have previously had nuclear treaties, Beijing has not signaled an interest in being part of such a pact.
The backstory:
With the expiration of the last nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia in February, no caps remain on the size of arsenals that the two nations can build. At the time, Trump rejected an offer by Russia to extend the treaty for two years, saying he wants "a new, improved and modernized" one that includes China.
Dig deeper:
For China, joining the meeting could present Xi with an opportunity to bring his country a greater sense of clout and prestige. To Putin, sitting down with the world’s two largest economies may look like an opportunity for him to claim Russia is on par with the other superpowers.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and the White House. This story was reported from Orlando, Florida.