US and China Establish AI Dialogue Ahead of Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded a series of intensive negotiations in New York on September 20 to establish groundwork for a summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. The officials formalized the USA-China AI Dialogues, a bilateral framework designed to manage national security risks. A central feature of this agreement is a proposed notification mechanism, or incident hotline, to alert each other of alarming AI episodes, such as uncontrollable autonomous agents or AI-enabled cyberattacks.

Beyond technology, the delegations worked to operationalize a Board of Trade to identify non-sensitive goods for reciprocal tariff reductions. They also discussed the status of a trade truce established in Busan, which expires on November 10. While U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated support for a three-to-six-month extension to ensure Chinese compliance with agricultural and rare-earth commitments, Beijing has sought a two-year extension for greater certainty.

President Donald Trump has signaled a commitment to maintaining U.S. AI leadership, announcing plans to create an AI Force and appoint an AI czar. While he has dismissed some AI safety fears as a "hoax," his administration rejected requests from AI labs for liability immunity, insisting developers remain responsible for their creations. The diplomatic push follows reports of a U.S. military AI hallucination that nearly led to the seizure of a Chinese ship, underscoring the urgency of the new communication channels. The two presidents are scheduled to meet in Washington on September 24 and 25 to finalize these agreements.