During high-level talks in New York, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a new AI safety notification mechanism to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to manage national security threats. The eight-hour meeting prepared the groundwork for an upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington. While the nations agreed to operationalize a 'Board of Trade' to cut tariffs on non-strategic goods, deep tensions remain over export controls, critical mineral flows, and outstanding Chinese purchase commitments.
US-China AI safety notification mechanism
- ▪The proposed US-China artificial intelligence safety notification mechanism would cover AI-related incidents that rise to a national security level.
- ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a new artificial intelligence safety notification mechanism to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during talks in New York on September 20, 2026.
- ▪US Representative Ro Khanna stated on September 20, 2026, that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping must reach an agreement banning recursive self-improving AI and establishing safeguards against AI misuse for biological or nuclear weapons.
- ▪US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that US export controls on sophisticated AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were excluded from the AI mechanism talks.
Trump-Xi summit preparation
- ▪China's Ministry of Commerce announced that Vice Premier He Lifeng would lead a delegation of Chinese companies to participate in economic and trade consultations in the US ahead of the Trump-Xi summit in Washington
- ▪The September 20, 2026, bilateral talks in New York served to prepare the groundwork for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for September 24 and 25, 2026, in Washington.
- ▪Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent led the eight-hour bilateral negotiations at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York on September 20, 2026.
US-China trade negotiations
- ▪The United States and China agreed to operationalize a bilateral trade body called the "Board of Trade" to identify potential tariff cuts on non-strategic goods.
- ▪The bilateral trade discussions between Bessent and He Lifeng in New York occurred as a fragile US-China trade truce, which capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at approximately 20 percent, approached its November 10, 2026, expiration
- ▪US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported no progress on improving the flow of critical minerals and rare-earth magnets to US companies.
National security transparency concerns
- ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that moving from opacity to transparency between the United States and China, the world's two leading artificial intelligence powers, is critical for managing national security concerns
- ▪US auto industry groups urged President Donald Trump on September 18, 2026, to maintain an effective ban on Chinese vehicle sales in the US on national security grounds.
- ▪The Asia Group partner George Chen stated that prospects for US-China AI cooperation are limited by low mutual trust and Beijing's perception that Washington aims to contain its AI development.
Agricultural trade commitments
- ▪China has fulfilled over half of its annual pledge to purchase 25 million tons of US soybeans, representing a rare area of trade progress ahead of the Trump-Xi summit in Washington
- ▪Bilateral negotiators did not provide updates on China's outstanding commitments to increase purchases of US agricultural goods by $17 billion annually and to buy more than 200 Boeing aircraft.
Debatable claims
- ▪The US and China should ban recursive self-improving AI
- ▪The US should include chip export controls in AI safety negotiations with China
Story comments
Loading comments…