US and China draw closer ahead of Trump-Xi meeting, launch separate AI dialogue
The US and China agreed to establish a separate dialogue mechanism on artificial intelligence and continued talks on reducing trade barriers ahead of the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. At the same time, the sides have not yet managed to agree on extending the current trade truce.
The talks took place on September 20 in New York. The US delegation was led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent together with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the Chinese one by Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Bessent called the meeting "very successful", and China's chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang spoke of a good atmosphere. Chinese state agency Xinhua described the consultations as frank, in-depth and constructive, and separately confirmed that the sides discussed artificial intelligence issues.
Following the meeting, Washington and Beijing are to launch a separate US-China dialogue on AI. At the first stage, it will focus not on restricting the development of the technology, but on reducing shared risks.
The US, in particular, proposed creating a mechanism through which the two countries could notify each other about serious incidents with AI systems that could have national security consequences. The American side also wants to discuss the use of artificial intelligence by non-state actors and the risks of its use for creating biological weapons.
The AI consultations are expected to continue in about two months. At the same time, deep contradictions remain between the countries over technology restrictions, China's access to advanced American chips and the development of Chinese AI models.
In parallel, the sides are trying to find areas where trade can be expanded without creating national security risks. This concerns so-called non-sensitive goods: from the Chinese side these could be consumer and low-tech goods, from the US - energy, agricultural and medical products.
The US and China are already working on the Board of Trade mechanism, which should facilitate trade in such categories. Washington is also seeking better access for American farmers and producers to the Chinese market.
Positive signals have already affected markets. After the talks, Asian technology stocks rose, and wheat and corn futures received support on expectations of new purchases by China of American agricultural products. At the end of last week, Chinese state companies purchased at least four shipments of American soybeans.
However, the key trade issue remains unresolved for now. According to the Financial Times, the US and China did not agree on extending the trade truce concluded last year. Among the disputed issues remain the duration of a possible extension of the agreement and Beijing's implementation of agreements on rare earth metals exports.
The talks in New York are meant to prepare the ground for the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24. Trade, artificial intelligence and technology restrictions are expected to be among the main topics of the summit.
Based on materials from: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Xinhua
