Bessent proposes AI safety notifications in talks with China ahead of Xi-Trump meeting

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded talks in New York on Sunday with the US side proposing a new AI safety notification mechanism for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi ⁠Jinping to consider at their summit this week.

Bessent told reporters that the two sides discussed setting up a new US-China AI dialogue, with a particular emphasis on national security concerns with a notification system for common goals and common threats that would cover AI-related incidents that rise to a national security level.

“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 said at the conclusion of the talks.

Trump and ⁠Xi first discussed potential consultations on AI development in May in Beijing, but that ​forum was ⁠never formalized.

The Chinese response to the US proposal was unclear. Vice Premier He and China’s chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang left the talks at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York without speaking to media.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said US export controls on sophisticated AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment ⁠were not on the agenda for the AI mechanism talks.

Greer added that Sunday’s discussions would prepare the groundwork for a “successful summit” between Trump and ​Xi next Thursday and ⁠Friday in Washington.

“These are the two most powerful countries on ‌earth, whether it’s in trade or AI, and it’s imperative that they’re able to work together. It doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges in the relationship. A lot of these are obvious,” Greer said.

The meeting covered other key topics, including plans to “operationalize” a process agreed in May for each side to identify potential ‌tariff cuts on non-strategic goods, called the “Board of Trade.”

Greer did not identify a specific list of ‌products that could see such reductions, but he repeated his desire for a “relatively small subset of American and Chinese goods that can be traded in a balanced way, that are non-sensitive.”

These would be considered as “a class unto themselves.”

Potential candidates among Chinese exports include “consumer goods, low-tech items,” he said, while US exports for this treatment could include energy, agricultural goods and medical devices, he added.

Greer and Bessent did not mention ⁠any progress on improving the flow of critical minerals to US companies, which US officials have said are insufficient despite Beijing’s prior commitments to ease restrictions under last year’s US-China trade truce.

The discussions point to more incremental progress in avoiding an escalation of tensions in a delicate trade relationship that has major consequences for the global economy.

“I think status quo is probably both sides’ general best expectation,” Anna Ashton, a China trade analyst and founder of Ashton Intelligence said prior to the meeting.

Bessent and Greer did not provide updates on other issues that are unresolved after the May meeting in Beijing between Trump and Xi, including Chinese pledges to increase purchases of US agricultural goods by $17 billion a year and to purchase more than 200 Boeing aircraft.

Trump and Xi must reach a deal that covers AI ‌safety, said US Representative Ro Khanna, the ranking Democrat on the US House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese ​Communist Party.

“The first ask is of Trump and Xi Jinping to come up with an international agreement, and two of the core principles ‌should be one banning any self-improving AI, recursive self-improving AI… The second is ⁠to have safeguards so that AI can’t be misused by people for biological nuclear weapons,” Khanna said on Sunday, speaking on CBS’ “Face the ⁠Nation” program.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that He would also lead a delegation of Chinese companies to the US that would participate in economic and trade consultations ahead of the summit.

The ‌business delegation, which mirrors a group of US ​CEOs that Trump brought to Beijing in May, was announced as Trump expressed openness ‌to Chinese automakers building US factories.

US auto industry groups on Friday ​urged Trump to maintain an effective ban on Chinese vehicle sales in the US on national security grounds.

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美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特和中国国务院副总理何立峰周日在纽约结束了会谈，美方提出了一项新的人工智能安全通知机制，供美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和中国国家主席习近平在本周的峰会上审议。

贝森特告诉记者，双方讨论了建立新的美中人工智能对话机制，特别强调国家安全问题，并建立一个共同目标和共同威胁的通报系统，以涵盖达到国家安全级别的人工智能相关事件。

贝森特在会谈结束时表示：“我们认为，就像任何跨境活动一样，世界第一和第二人工智能强国之间从不透明走向更加透明非常重要。”

特朗普和习近平5月份在北京首次讨论了就人工智能发展进行磋商的可能性，但该论坛从未正式成立。

中方对美方提议的回应尚不明确。国务院副总理贺建奎和中国首席贸易谈判代表李成刚在纽约摩根大通总部会谈结束后，未接受媒体采访便离开了会场。

美国贸易代表杰米森·格里尔表示，美国对尖端人工智能芯片和半导体制造设备的出口管制不在人工智能机制谈判的议程上。

格里尔补充说，周日的会谈将为特朗普和习近平下周四和周五在华盛顿举行的“成功峰会”奠定基础。

格里尔说：“这两个国家是地球上最强大的国家，无论是在贸易还是人工智能领域，它们都必须能够合作。但这并不意味着两国关系中不存在挑战。很多挑战显而易见。”

会议还涵盖了其他重要议题，包括“落实”双方在 5 月份商定的、旨在确定非战略商品潜在关税削减的“贸易委员会”的计划。

格里尔没有具体列出哪些产品可能会被削减，但他重申了他希望削减的是“一小部分可以以平衡方式进行贸易、不敏感的美国和中国商品”。

这些将被视为“自成一类”。

他表示，中国出口产品中可能包括“消费品、低技术产品”，而美国出口产品中可能包括能源、农产品和医疗器械。

格里尔和贝森特没有提及在改善美国公司关键矿产供应方面取得的任何进展，美国官员表示，尽管北京此前承诺在去年的中美贸易休战协议下放松限制，但目前的供应仍然不足。

讨论表明，在避免微妙的贸易关系紧张局势升级方面取得了更多渐进式进展，这种贸易关系对全球经济有着重大影响。

“我认为维持现状可能是双方普遍的最佳预期，”中国贸易分析师、阿什顿情报公司创始人安娜·阿什顿在会前表示。

贝森特和格里尔没有就特朗普和习近平在北京 5 月会晤后仍未解决的其他问题提供最新进展，包括中国承诺每年增加购买美国农产品 170 亿美元以及购买 200 多架波音飞机。

美国众议院中美战略竞争特别委员会首席民主党议员罗·卡纳表示，特朗普和习近平必须达成一项涵盖人工智能安全的协议。

“首先，我们要求特朗普和习近平达成一项国际协议，其中两项核心原则应该是：一是禁止任何自我改进的人工智能，包括递归自我改进的人工智能……二是建立保障措施，防止人工智能被人类滥用于制造生物核武器，”卡纳周日在哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）的“面对国家”（Face the Nation）节目中说道。

中国商务部周六表示，贺建奎还将率领中国企业代表团赴美参加峰会前的经济贸易磋商。

该商业代表团与特朗普5月份带到北京的美国首席执行官代表团类似，特朗普宣布组建该代表团之际，正值他表示对中国汽车制造商在美国建厂持开放态度。

美国汽车行业团体周五敦促特朗普以国家安全为由，维持对中国汽车在美国销售的有效禁令。