Ahead of a high-stakes Washington summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a new AI safety notification mechanism to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during talks in New York on September 20, 2026. The proposed "AI hotline" aims to establish transparency and alert systems for AI incidents that threaten national security. While US tech leaders warn of existential risks, President Donald Trump maintains that the US must win the AI race, and China's official response to the safety mechanism remains unconfirmed.
US-China AI safety notification mechanism
- ▪China's state-run news agency Xinhua acknowledged that officials discussed AI during the September 20, 2026 talks but did not state whether Beijing accepted the AI safety notification mechanism Bessent proposed to Vice Premier He Lifeng
- ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed the AI safety notification mechanism proposed by Bessent at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York ahead of the Trump-Xi summit
- ▪The United States proposed a new artificial intelligence safety notification mechanism to China during talks in New York on September 20, 2026
- ▪The proposed US-China AI safety notification mechanism would serve as an alert system for AI-related incidents that rise to a national security level
AI national security concerns
- ▪US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that US export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were not on the agenda during the September 20, 2026 talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York
- ▪US Representative Ro Khanna called on Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to reach an agreement banning recursive self-improving AI and establishing safeguards against AI misuse for biological or nuclear weapons
Trump-Xi summit agenda
- ▪US President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit and summit in Washington from Wednesday to Friday, September 23-25, 2026
- ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed during their September 20, 2026 meeting to operationalize a "Board of Trade" to identify potential tariff cuts on non-sensitive goods
US-China AI competition
- ▪US President Donald Trump has resisted calls to slow down AI development, arguing that the United States must maintain its lead and stating that "whoever wins AI, wins."
- ▪According to Stanford University's 2026 AI Index Report, US companies invested $285.9 billion in AI in 2025, compared to $12.4 billion invested by companies in China
AI industry safety warnings
- ▪Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned in a September 2026 essay that rapid AI development could allow a swarm of AI models to take over the internet with a persistent botnet within 6 to 12 months
- ▪Frontier AI laboratory leaders Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk have recently called for a temporary slowdown in AI development to establish safety standards
Debatable claims
- ▪Trump and Xi should agree to ban recursive self-improving AI
- ▪The US should temporarily slow down its AI development
- ▪The US and China should establish an AI safety notification mechanism
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