On Sunday in New York, Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, met with Ho Lifeng, Chinese Vice Premier, to discuss establishing a security mechanism for artificial intelligence. The meeting was held as preparatory talks ahead of the planned summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington this Thursday, according to Reuters.
Bessent told reporters that the U.S. proposed initiating a dialogue with China on AI, including the creation of an early-warning system that would cover shared objectives and threats and extend to AI-related incidents that reach national-security significance. “As with any cross-border activity, it is important for the world’s two leading AI powers to move from opacity toward greater transparency,” Bessent said, as quoted in the report.
China’s official response was limited. The Xinhua state news agency only reported that the parties had discussed AI, without providing further details on Beijing’s reaction to the proposal.
Trump and Xi had previously agreed in their May meeting in Beijing to begin consultations on AI development, but those talks did not get underway at the time. A Reuters-cited expert said future rounds of AI discussions are likely to address more sensitive issues, such as military uses of the technology, security principles, protection of critical infrastructure and prevention of cyberattacks.
Efforts to cooperate are complicated by mutual distrust between the two countries and by China’s perception that the United States is trying to curb its AI development. Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, noted that the Sunday talks did not cover U.S. export controls on AI chips and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment. The meeting also served to prepare the upcoming Trump–Xi summit in Washington.
The specific content of the proposed initiative and the timing of any next steps remain unclear; further clarity is expected after the Washington summit.
