US Proposes an AI Safety Alert System With China Ahead of the Trump–Xi Summit

The takeaway: Washington has proposed a channel for warning Beijing, and being warned by it, when an AI incident becomes a national security matter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US had put forward a US–China AI dialogue that would include a notification system of that kind, for President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider when they meet in Washington on 24 and 25 September. It is a proposal, not an agreement. China's official readout said only that the two sides had discussed AI, and did not mention the US plan.

What happened

• Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in New York on 20 September, joined by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China's chief trade negotiator, Li Chenggang. Al Jazeera reports the talks lasted about eight hours.
• Speaking to reporters afterwards, Bessent said the two sides had discussed setting up a new US–China AI dialogue that would include a mechanism for alerting each other to AI-related incidents that could affect national security, NBC News reports. According to CNN, Bessent said the proposed dialogue would have a particular emphasis on national security concerns.
• Bessent explained the reasoning: "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." According to Al Jazeera, he argued that both sides should have a way to communicate over "common goals and common threats".
• Greer said US export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were not part of the proposed mechanism.
• Bessent said the two sides had agreed to meet again on AI, NBC News reports.

What China said

He Lifeng and Li Chenggang did not comment to reporters as they left the talks, NBC News reports. A Chinese readout published by the state news agency Xinhua said the two sides had discussed AI, but did not mention the US proposal. Chinese state media described the exchanges on economic and trade matters as "frank, in-depth, and constructive". CNN says China's response to the proposal is unclear.

Why it matters

NBC News describes the US and China as the world's two leading AI powers, a framing Bessent also used. Greer made clear that the US export controls on advanced chips, which NBC News notes have hindered Chinese AI companies, are not part of the proposed mechanism.

The summit is the next test. Greer said the New York talks were meant to lay the groundwork for a "successful summit" between Trump and Xi, and NBC News reports that AI is expected to be high on the agenda.