U.S. pitches "notification mechanism" for AI risks to China ahead of Trump-Xi talks

The weekend talks in New York, held at JPMorgan Chase headquarters, were framed as laying the groundwork for a Thursday meeting between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping. Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two sides had agreed to operationalize a "Board of Trade" that the two leaders had discussed when they met in Beijing in May. Greer said the countries were still discussing what "nonsensitive" items could be considered for lower tariffs, with a potential list including consumer and agricultural goods, energy products and medical devices.

Chinese state media Xinhua said Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng talked about issues "relating to AI" without mentioning specifics and also had "candid, in-depth and constructive" discussions on key economic and trade issues. George Chen, a partner and chair of digital practice at The Asia Group consultancy, said in written comments that the fact both sides agreed to continue the dialogue is significant, and that the initial outcome — an AI risk notification mechanism — sets a precedent that other countries may follow.

The proposed alert system would give the world's two biggest AI powers a way to flag incidents that threaten national security. Trump has resisted calls to slow down AI development, saying that would help China catch up to U.S. companies. Whether the notification mechanism moves from proposal to practice appears to hinge on the Thursday talks and on how both governments define which AI incidents count as national security threats.