US China to Coordinate AI Issues on National Security
Matters
In a meeting on Sunday, the U.S. Treasury
secretary and China’s vice premier talked about having a shared vision on the goals
of artificial intelligence and the threats it poses.
1.
Proposed
U.S.-China AI notification system
o The United States and China discussed creating
a mechanism through which each country could alert the other about AI-related national-security
issues.
o The proposed mechanism would be called the
“U.S.-China
A.I. dialogue.”
2.
High-level
economic talks in New York
o Discussions were held on Sunday in New York, ahead of President Xi Jinping's planned state
visit to Washington.
o Participants included:
§ Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary
§ Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative
§ He Lifeng, China's Vice Premier
3.
Purpose
of AI dialogue
o The proposed notification system would be activated
when an AI-related issue reaches the national-security
level.
o Bessent said the objective was greater transparency and a shared understanding of AI's goals and
associated threats.
4.
Growing
AI security concerns
o The initiative reflects concerns that rapidly
developing AI could create national-security
risks, including:
§ Hacking and cyber operations
§ Enhancement of military capabilities
§ Development of lethal weapons
§ Advanced surveillance applications
5.
U.S.
concerns about Chinese AI capabilities
o U.S. officials are concerned that AI could
strengthen Chinese hacking,
military and surveillance capabilities.
o A recent Trump administration report accused
Chinese companies of taking proprietary functions and capabilities from U.S. AI
models.
o AI-related issues are expected to feature in
discussions between Trump
and Xi.
6.
U.S.-China
AI competition
o The two countries continue to compete for leadership
in artificial intelligence while international pressure for stronger AI regulation
is increasing.
7.
New
U.S.-China Board of Trade
o Bessent and Greer also discussed plans to establish
a new Board
of Trade to promote
trade in non-sensitive
goods between
the two countries.
o The concept had been introduced by the United
States earlier this year.
8.
Potential
goods covered
o Potential Chinese exports to the U.S. could
include:
§ Consumer goods
§ Low-technology products
o Potential U.S. exports to China could include:
§ Energy products
§ Agricultural goods
§ Possibly medical devices
9.
Creating
a trade “ballast”
o Greer said officials were seeking a sufficiently
large group of products that could be “traded
in a balanced way”, creating
greater stability in the bilateral relationship.
10. Background: one-year trade truce
o The U.S. and China agreed to a one-year trade truce in October 2025 after a prolonged cycle of reciprocal tariffs
and export controls.
o The dispute had contributed to significant
disruption in the global economy.
The
New York talks combine two tracks: establishing greater transparency over AI-related
national-security risks and rebuilding trade in non-sensitive goods. The proposed
AI dialogue and Board of Trade could provide institutional channels for managing
technology and trade tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
The
United States and China discussed on Sunday the creation of a notification system
that would allow the countries to alert each other about national security issues
related to artificial intelligence.
The
countries spoke about the need for such a mechanism during a day of economic talks
involving Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative;
and China’s vice premier, He Lifeng. The meetings took place in New York ahead of
President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington later this week, and they were
intended to lay the groundwork for potential agreements between the world’s two
largest economies on artificial intelligence, trade and the war in Iran.
The
idea a new mechanism for addressing A.I. underscores the growing concern around
the world that the rapidly evolving technology could pose national security risks.
Speaking
after the meetings, which were held at the New York offices of JPMorgan Chase, Mr.
Bessent said that the mechanism would be called “the U.S.-China A.I. dialogue” and
that it would aim to ensure that the two countries had a shared vision on the goals
of A.I. and threats that it poses.
Explaining
that the notification system would be activated when a matter related to A.I. reaches
the national security level, Mr. Bessent added: “We think that just like with any
cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the
No. 1 and the No. 2 A.I. powers in the world is very important.”
The
United States and China have been racing to become the dominant powers in artificial
intelligence technology at a time when there is increasing demand to regulate the
industry because of concerns that it could spiral out of human control and be used
for hacking and the development of lethal weapons.
America’s
leading A.I. companies have recently published reports disclosing that their models
have breached or bypassed contained testing environments. U.S. officials are also
concerned about the potential for A.I. to enhance Chinese hacking operations, military
capabilities and surveillance systems.
In
a report earlier this month, the Trump administration accused Chinese companies
of taking proprietary functions and capabilities from American A.I. models in an
“aggressive, malicious and targeted” way. The issue is expected to be a topic of
discussion between President Trump and Mr. Xi when they meet.
Mr.
Bessent and Mr. Greer also said that they discussed trade with their Chinese counterparts.
U.S. officials said they were moving forward with setting up a new so-called Board
of Trade, a concept they introduced earlier this year, which would promote trade
in nonsensitive goods between the United States and China.
The
goods would include Chinese-made consumer goods and low-tech items, as well as American
energy products, agricultural goods and potentially medical devices, Mr. Greer said.
Government
officials on both sides were continuing to work, Mr. Greer said, to find a critical
mass of goods that could be “traded in a balanced way, and create a kind of ballast
for the relationship.”
The
United States and China agreed to a one-year trade truce last October after engaging
in a tit-for-tat war of tariffs and export controls that destabilized the global
economy for months.