In September 2026, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping raised the future and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) during their summit, but did not reach a formal bilateral agreement, according to reporting by the Washington Post.
On the day of the meeting Trump posted on Truth Social that "superintelligence" should be left alone and that he did not intend to interfere with its development. Xi, by contrast, told the summit that both countries share responsibility to keep AI development under human supervision. In an official summary released by the Chinese side, Xi urged his American counterpart to continue bilateral dialogue on AI risks and to act jointly against abuses.
Although the subject was placed on the agenda, the two sides did not agree on any concrete, binding regulatory measures. Observers point to several overlapping political and economic factors behind that outcome: Trump and his Silicon Valley allies firmly oppose efforts to slow AI development, arguing that such restrictions would advantage Chinese competitors.
At the same time, Beijing has pursued its own regulatory measures. In a July speech Xi called for tighter oversight to prevent a loss of control, and earlier in the month a Chinese regulator official publicly warned about software vulnerabilities in AI models. China already enforces notably stricter rules than the United States in several areas: AI-generated content must be labeled, the role of algorithms in news distribution is restricted, and chatbots are completely banned for minors. The Chinese leadership places strong emphasis on the social and political risks of AI; Csen Ji-hszin, the state security minister, warned in an analysis published on September 12 that AI-generated propaganda and deepfakes could generate tensions and political polarization.
Pressure for regulation is also growing in the United States. On Tuesday two California lawmakers introduced a proposal that would require the U.S. State Department to enter deeper consultations with the Chinese side on AI testing and transparency. Separately, Scott Bessent, the finance minister, this week discussed with his Chinese counterpart the creation of a bilateral notification system to track security incidents related to artificial intelligence.
Analysts, including Matt Sheehan of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, say a comprehensive U.S.–China AI agreement remains unlikely: Trump rejects binding constraints, and Beijing objects to U.S. export controls that have hampered China’s AI sector for years. Still, Sheehan argues that increasingly candid risk assessments by Chinese officials and repeated failures in technological systems mean international cooperation cannot be ruled out entirely.
Overall, the summit demonstrated both powers' willingness to talk about AI risks, but political divisions and strategic interests prevented the emergence of a shared, binding regulatory framework.
Key dates and facts
- The summit and subsequent reporting took place in September 2026.
- Xi’s July speech and Csen Ji-hszin’s September 12 analysis were cited as part of Beijing’s concerns.
- Two California lawmakers this week proposed legislation to require deeper U.S. State Department talks with China on AI testing and transparency.
- Scott Bessent, identified as finance minister in the reporting, discussed a bilateral notification system for AI-related security incidents this week.
An AI assistant contributed to preparing this article; the final text was edited and verified by a journalist.
