Treasury official: US, China discuss AI guardrails to protect most advanced models

The United States and China are holding discussions on establishing artificial intelligence guardrails aimed at safeguarding the most powerful AI models and preventing exploitation by non-state actors, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Speaking in a pre-recorded interview, Bessent said the talks are focused on developing protocols and best practices to limit the risks associated with advanced AI systems while preserving innovation, Caliber.Az reports per British media.

“What we don't want to do is stifle innovation. So our responsibility is to come up with the highest performance calculus where we can get ⁠the most innovation and the highest level of safety,” Bessent said.

The discussions, which include US and Chinese delegations meeting in Beijing, are expected to produce a framework for AI safety coordination, particularly aimed at preventing criminal or terrorist groups from exploiting frontier systems.

Bessent emphasised that maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence remains a central objective for Washington.

“It was 'of utmost importance' that the U.S. maintain its lead over China in AI, adding that this is why Beijing is interested in discussing guardrails.”

He added that Washington’s approach is to promote what he described as US-led standards for global AI governance.

“So we're going to put in U.S. best practices, U.S. values on this, and then roll those out to the world,” he said.