The United States and China are exploring a joint regulatory mechanism that would allow them to warn and alert one another about artificial intelligence attacks that threaten national security, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday after talks with Chinese Finance Minister He Lifeng.
Bessent said it is “very important to move from opacity to transparency between the world’s first and second AI powers.” Although both sides expressed commitment to AI transparency at the meeting, no decision was reached on establishing the security system; any agreement is most likely to be addressed during the talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for this week.
Xi’s visit and the week’s schedule
Beijing officially confirmed Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States on Monday morning. This will be Xi’s first trip to Washington since 2015. In May, Xi hosted Donald Trump in Beijing. The upcoming Trump–Xi meetings are expected to run from Wednesday through Friday. Protocol details already disclosed include Trump making a rare diplomatic gesture by personally greeting his guest at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. A state dinner is planned, and the preliminary guest list includes major tech leaders such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.
Political and industry context
Donald Trump recently posted on Truth Social that he would like to appoint an “AI czar” to lead an “AI Force.” He wrote that his administration does not intend to hinder the growth of the industry, but rather to nurture and support it.
China also follows the AI debate closely. The state-run China Daily recently questioned whether initiatives supported by figures including Elon Musk — which call for slowing down the development of large AI models — are motivated by genuine concern for humanity or by fear of competing with China.
The global significance of the issue was underscored by Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder, who recently said he has sought meetings with both superpower leaders because he believes governments are not prepared for the challenges posed by AI.
Why this matters
A bilateral alert system, if created, could mark a meaningful step toward international handling of AI risks by enabling faster information sharing and coordinated responses to incidents that pose military or critical-infrastructure threats. However, the technical and procedural details — such as notification protocols, authentication processes, and oversight mechanisms — remain to be negotiated and are likely to be discussed directly by the two presidents.
