President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office Thursday, downplayed an upcoming nuclear summit in Beijing between Iran, Russia, and China, three chief adversaries of the U.S.

The discussions, first confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry Thursday and which come just days after Iran rebuffed Trump’s push to engage in nuclear negotiations, will coincide with a United Nations Security Council meeting regarding Tehran’s expansion of near-weapons-grade uranium. 

Trump suggested perhaps Beijing, Moscow and Tehran will be having their own discussions on “de-escalation.”

“Well, maybe they’re going to talk about non-nuclear problems. Maybe they’re going to be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House March 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“There is no evidence that China’s ongoing nuclear expansion will result in parity with the U.S. arsenal,” the report said. “Even the worst-case 2023 projection of 1,500 warheads by 2035 amounts to less than half of the current U.S. nuclear stockpile.”

Russia is believed to have 5,580 nuclear weapons, and the U.S. is reported to have 5,225, while China comes in at a distant third, according to the Arms Control Association. 

Concerns over North Korea’s largely unchecked nuclear program have also continued to mount in recent years, particularly after Pyongyang formed closer ties with Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“It would be a great achievement if we could bring down the number,” Trump said. 

“You don’t need them to that extent,” he added, noting the immense destruction even one nuclear weapon could inflict. 

North Korea is estimated to have 50 nuclear weapons, which Trump noted is “a lot.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, supervises artillery firing drills in North Korea March 7, 2024.  (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

But he also pointed to the positive relationship he had with Kim Jong Un during his first presidency and suggested that relationship could extend during his second term. Trump appeared to suggest there could be room for nuclear negotiations. 

“I have a great relationship with Kim Jong Un, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “But certainly he’s a nuclear power.”