China's Commerce Ministry confirmed the two countries held their first AI-focused trade talks ahead of a White House summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with discussions also covering tariff reductions and the extension of an existing trade truce through January.
China's Commerce Ministry confirmed Thursday that senior trade negotiators from the United States and China held their first formal discussions on artificial intelligence, a disclosure that came just hours before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping began a high-stakes summit at the White House.
Ministry spokesperson He Yadong told reporters the two sides also discussed plans for reducing tariffs and extending trade arrangements reached in Kuala Lumpur last October.
The AI talks took place in New York, where China's Vice Premier He Lifeng met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the lead-up to the Washington summit. Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that the two countries had agreed to extend an existing trade truce through January.
That truce, first reached in October 2025, kept tariffs at reduced levels and limited China's export controls on rare earths — critical components used in semiconductors, household goods, and defense products.
Earlier in the week, Bessent said the two sides had discussed establishing a formal AI dialogue, along with a mechanism for alerting each other about AI-related risks. China's Commerce Ministry said the talks were "constructive" and "candid," and that the two sides reached multiple points of consensus.
Trump confirmed on Truth Social Thursday morning that AI would feature prominently in his meeting with Xi, though he signaled no appetite for new regulatory commitments. "Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ!" he wrote.
The president reiterated his broader stance at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, stating: "We're going to encourage it, not rein it in." Trump has consistently framed aggressive AI development as essential to maintaining a competitive edge over China.
Xi's Washington visit — his first since September 2015 — was treated with considerable ceremony. Trump traveled to Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday to meet Xi at the aircraft stairs, a gesture a source familiar with the matter confirmed was the first time Trump had gone to the base to welcome a foreign leader. Military flyovers, cannon fire, and an Air Force band performance accompanied the arrival.
Both countries are weighing how to manage the risks posed by increasingly autonomous AI systems. Recent incidents involving advanced AI models have amplified fears that such technology could accelerate cyberattacks and other threats, making them faster and harder to contain.
Beyond AI, the agenda for Thursday's bilateral meeting includes Taiwan, trade, and the ongoing Iran war. Trump confirmed Iran would come up in discussions, noting, "I'll be talking about that and many other subjects." The U.S. launched "Operation Economic Outcast" last month, a sanctions campaign targeting Iran's financial backers — a move that raised questions about potential pressure on China, Tehran's largest trading partner and oil buyer.
The summit schedule includes a bilateral meeting in the Rose Garden following a military review, a state dinner in the White House's East Room attended by U.S. business executives, and a private tea on Friday before Xi's departure.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to CNBC: "President Xi hosted President Trump in China for a historic summit this summer, and President Trump is reciprocating his hospitality by welcoming the Chinese delegation for a reciprocal visit this week."
The formal establishment of an AI dialogue framework — if confirmed in a joint statement — would mark the most structured channel the two governments have created to manage competition and risk in the technology sector, coming amid sustained rivalry over semiconductor access and next-generation computing dominance.
TechEchelon Staff bylines are produced collectively by the newsroom for short, breaking, and wire-style coverage. Longer-form reporting is published under the responsible reporter's name.
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