The United States and China have agreed to establish a formal dialogue on artificial intelligence following high-level talks held in New York on Sunday. The discussions took place ahead of a planned meeting between the US and Chinese presidents later this week.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng led the meetings, which also involved the US trade representative and China’s chief trade negotiator. Bessent described the talks as very successful and said the two sides discussed creating a US-China AI dialogue focused on shared goals and threats.
The proposed mechanism would include a notification system allowing each country to alert the other about AI-related issues that rise to the level of national security concern. Officials emphasised the importance of greater transparency between the world’s two leading AI powers, moving away from opacity in cross-border technological developments.
US officials clarified that export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were not part of the agenda for the AI mechanism. The talks also addressed trade matters, including potential carve-outs for certain goods from future tariff actions, as part of broader preparations for the leaders’ summit.
The AI dialogue builds on earlier discussions between the two countries about managing risks associated with powerful AI models, particularly concerns about misuse by non-state actors. No detailed Chinese public response to the specific proposal was immediately available after the meetings concluded.
The New York sessions were intended to lay groundwork for potential agreements on AI, trade and other issues during the upcoming summit in Washington. Officials indicated that further working-level discussions would continue.