US and China discuss AI safety plan ahead of Trump-Xi summit

ByOsmond Chia Business reporter.

Key points

• Bessent created the comments after what he called "successful" negotiations with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York.
• The session came as US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are due to hold a summit in Washington afterwards this week.
• When Xi hosted Trump in Beijing, ways to collaborate on AI was one of the problems the two leaders discussed, in May.
• A truce in the tariffs war between the world's two biggest economies is due to expire on 10 November.
• Those discussions concluded with an agreement that China would purchase Boeing jets and US agricultural goods in exchange for lower tariffs.

Top US and Chinese authorities have discussed creating a new "notification mechanism" for AI incidents that could affect national security, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated to journalists on Sunday.

In practice, the session came as US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are due to hold a summit in Washington afterwards this week.

AI has come under intense scrutiny in recent days after researchers cautioned of the potential risks posed by the technology and some of the industry's most high profile figures called on developers to take a more cautious approach.

"We think that, just like with any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the number one and the number two AI powers in the world is very important, " Bessent remarked to journalists after the negotiations.

He remarked the gathering additionally covered other topics, including aims to "operationalise" a process to identify potential tariff cuts on goods called the Board of Trade.

In practice, a truce in the tariffs war between the world's two biggest economies is due to expire on 10 November.

Notably, the BBC has contacted the Chinese embassy in the US for comment.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua remarked the two sides had "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on key economic and trade issues", noting that they had discussed AI.

Bessent remarked in a post on X on Sunday that the negotiations "help lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance America's economic interests and deliver results for the American people."

Meanwhile, the US and China are locked in a race to dominate the AI and technology industries.

In recent days Washington has faced calls to slow down the development of AI over fears abouts its potential negative impact on humanity.

Trump has largely dismissed those reservations, arguing that there are sufficient policies around AI and that the US cannot lose its edge to China. He remarked earlier this month "whoever wins in AI, wins."

In short, US and China discuss AI safety plan ahead of Trump is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.