Bessent Proposes AI Notification Mechanism to China — SkimNews
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- Scott Bessent told reporters he and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held "successful" talks in New York focused on creating a cross-border "notification mechanism" for AI incidents that could affect national security.
- The New York meeting also covered plans to "operationalise" a Board of Trade process to identify potential tariff cuts on goods, ahead of the Trump-Xi summit in Washington later this week.
- The US-China tariff truce expires on 10 November, according to the report, raising the stakes for the upcoming summit.
- Trump has dismissed AI safety concerns, saying earlier this month "whoever wins in AI, wins," and arguing the US cannot afford to lose its technological edge to China.
- In May, Xi Jinping hosted Trump in Beijing, where the two leaders discussed AI collaboration and China agreed to buy Boeing jets and US agricultural goods in exchange for lower tariffs.
- Chinese state news agency Xinhua described the talks as "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on key economic and trade issues," confirming that AI was among the topics discussed.
Why it matters: Bessent pitched the AI notification mechanism as moving from "opaque to more transparency" between the world's top two AI powers — the first concrete US-China cooperation framework on AI safety. With the 10 November tariff truce deadline approaching and the Board of Trade process still being operationalised, the AI track offers the summit's clearest path to a deliverable while harder trade questions remain unresolved.
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