Representatives from China and the United States held talks in New York about bilateral trade tensions and security risks related to artificial intelligence (AI), just days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. Treasury official Scott Bessent said.
The discussions took place at the New York headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. After meetings with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Scott Bessent said the U.S. side proposed creating a notification mechanism to allow sharing of information on AI incidents that reach a national-security threshold.
Bessent emphasized the need for greater transparency between the world’s two leading AI powers and said both sides want to develop a shared understanding of common goals and threats. The Chinese state news agency described the talks as sincere, deep and constructive on economic and trade issues, but provided few details about the AI discussions.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the New York meeting was in part intended to prepare for the Washington summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. During the talks, officials also discussed a Trade Council proposal to examine tariff reductions on certain non‑strategic goods.
Greer indicated the focus would be on less sensitive Chinese consumer and low‑technology goods, and on U.S. energy, agricultural and medical‑device products. The current bilateral trade “truce” expires on November 10, so extending it could be a key issue at the Trump–Xi summit.
Washington says Beijing has not yet adequately fulfilled commitments to facilitate shipments of critical minerals to the United States; the Sunday talks produced no reported progress on that point. Reuters reported that the parties did not discuss U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor‑manufacturing equipment.
The upcoming summit is expected to cover, in addition to trade and AI, geopolitical topics such as the war in Iran, tensions around Taiwan, and China’s ties with Russia.
Why it matters
The meeting shows both sides are linking economic negotiations with AI security concerns. The proposed notification mechanism would aim to enable faster information exchanges about incidents posing national‑security risks. However, key outstanding issues — including critical mineral shipments and export controls on advanced AI and chipmaking gear — saw no breakthroughs in New York.
People mentioned: Scott Bessent; He Lifeng; Jamieson Greer.
Organization and venue: JPMorgan Chase (New York).
