US proposes AI safety mechanism in talks with China

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded talks in New York on September 20, with Washington proposing a new artificial intelligence safety notification mechanism for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider at their summit this week.

Bessent said the two sides discussed establishing a new US-China AI dialogue focused on national security concerns, including a notification system covering AI-related incidents that reach the national security level, Reuters reports. 

“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.

Trump and Xi first discussed potential consultations on AI development in May, but the proposed forum was never formalised. China’s state news agency Xinhua only briefly acknowledged that AI had been discussed during the latest talks.

Xinhua described the discussions as “frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges on key economic and trade issues”, including implementation of agreements reached during earlier trade and investment consultations.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said US export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were not part of the AI mechanism discussions.

The talks also covered plans to establish a “Board of Trade” process under which Washington and Beijing would identify potential tariff cuts on a limited range of non-strategic goods.

Greer said potential Chinese exports could include “consumer goods, low-tech items,” while US products could include energy, agricultural goods and medical devices.

Greer said the New York talks were also intended to prepare the groundwork for a “successful summit” between Trump and Xi in Washington later this week.

“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 talks did not produce reported progress on critical minerals or several other unresolved issues, including Chinese commitments to increase purchases of US agricultural products and Boeing aircraft.

By Sabina Mammadli