US, China Eye AI Notification Mechanism Before Trump-Xi Summit — SkimNews
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- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York on Sunday, telling reporters they discussed a new 'notification mechanism' for AI incidents that could affect national security ahead of the Trump-Xi summit in Washington.
- Bessent called the talks 'successful' and said 'moving from opaque to more transparency between the number one and the number two AI powers in the world is very important,' framing AI coordination as critical between the two leading nations.
- Chinese state news agency Xinhua described the exchanges as 'candid, in-depth and constructive' on key economic and trade issues, confirming AI was on the agenda alongside other topics.
- The officials also discussed plans to 'operationalise' a process to identify potential tariff cuts on goods through a newly proposed 'Board of Trade,' tying AI cooperation directly to trade negotiations.
- A tariff truce between the US and China is due to expire on 10 November, giving the summit a hard deadline for any broader agreement on either AI or trade.
- In May, when Xi hosted Trump in Beijing, AI collaboration was discussed and the talks ended with China agreeing to buy Boeing jets and US agricultural goods in exchange for lower tariffs — a template Bessent may be trying to repeat.
Why it matters: The US and China are the world's top two AI powers, and any notification mechanism they agree to would set the first bilateral guardrails on AI incidents between rival nations. Because the talks were explicitly bundled with tariff discussions and the truce expires 10 November, the AI announcement serves as political cover and leverage heading into the summit, not a standalone safety pact.
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