China Pushes Scripted Trilateral Summit as Trump Eyes Denuclearization Talk

China is pushing for the trilateral meeting between the US, Chinese and Russian presidents to stick to a tightly scripted format, sources told The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Under that plan, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin would deliver prepared remarks with little scope for further discussion. Washington, by contrast, wants to open the floor for more back-and-forth among the three leaders on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where they are expected to meet.

Trump flagged one topic he intends to bring up. Over the weekend, he said he wants to raise the possibility of denuclearization in talks with his Chinese and Russian counterparts. According to the report, Beijing may be reluctant to sign onto that initiative.

The nuclear question comes with a deadline already passed. The US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty expired in February, and the Trump administration has stressed that any successor agreement must also bring China into the fold. That demand is what makes the format fight more than a scheduling detail: a scripted session gives Beijing tight control over a subject it has shown little appetite to negotiate.

The three leaders are expected to gather at APEC next week. Whether the meeting runs as a set of statements or a genuine three-way exchange is still being negotiated between Washington and Beijing.