U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin this Thursday in Shenzhen, China.
The meeting takes place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. That summit runs through November 19. According to Idnes, the talks should focus on nuclear arms limitations and the situation in Iran.
Officials do not expect a formal agreement regarding nuclear weapons. A high-ranking U.S. official told CNN the discussions will likely serve as an initial dialogue between the leaders.
“I would describe it as some kind of entry point, a first conversation, at least at the level of the top leadership of these countries,” the official said, according to Idnes.
The AP described the meeting as unprecedented. Analysts suggest the meeting may be more symbolic because expectations for a major breakthrough are low.
The summit will take place on November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, a city in southern China. Results of those negotiations are uncertain. Finding an agenda that all participants accept is a challenge, according to the Financial Times.
Discussions are not expected to include negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, Novinky reported, citing agencies AP and AFP. Moscow attacked in February 2022.
No bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin is planned, a source from Reuters said. Japanese agency Kyodo reported that Trump will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip to Asia, according to Novinky.
In the United States, the meeting follows a period of economic and budgetary focus. The New York Times reported that Donald Trump intends to save on ecology and diplomacy in favor of the military, according to Source 1.
The Shenzhen meeting follows a period of tension regarding trade. FXstreet cited Financial Times sources stating that Trump is pushing for minimum tariffs of 15 to 20 percent on all goods from the European Union. He also refuses to lower the 25 percent sectoral tariff on EU automobiles.