The leaders of the United States, China and Russia plan to meet Thursday on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China's tech hub of Shenzhen - an unprecedented gathering of the heads of the world's biggest nuclear powers.

While the leaders gathering for joint talks will mark a singular moment, analysts say expectations are low that the talks will lead to major breakthroughs and say they will be heavier in symbolism than substance.

Plans for the three-way summit with Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were confirmed on Friday by the White House.