US Proposes AI Incident Alert System in Talks With China Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting
The US has proposed a notification mechanism for AI incidents affecting national security, Bessent said after talks with China's vice premier in New York.
The United States has proposed a new notification mechanism for artificial intelligence incidents that could have a bearing on national security, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, describing the idea as part of weekend discussions held ahead of a White House meeting this week between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping.
Speaking to reporters after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York, Bessent said Washington is seeking a shared understanding with Beijing on common goals and common threats. He argued that greater transparency between the world's two leading AI powers matters, comparing the flow of information to any other cross-border activity and stressing the need to move away from opacity.
Trump has resisted calls to slow the pace of AI development in the United States, contending that doing so would allow Chinese companies to close the gap with their American counterparts.
Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addressed reporters late on Sunday in the lobby of the JPMorgan Chase headquarters, saying the groundwork had been laid for the Xi-Trump talks scheduled for Thursday. The two officials said both sides had agreed to operationalize a new Board of Trade, an idea the two leaders had discussed when they met in Beijing in May.
Greer said the concept had now moved from proposal to reality. He added that the two countries are still working out which nonsensitive items could be considered for lower tariffs, with a potential list covering consumer and agricultural goods, energy products and medical devices.