US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposes AI safety notifications for China

Proposed communication channel details

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States wants to move from opaque practices to greater transparency between the two nations. The proposal involves a system where both countries notify each other about incidents reaching a national security level. Officials described this new operational channel as a way to manage risks associated with cross-border artificial intelligence activity.

Trade and summit context

The discussions also covered trade issues while officials prepared for the leaders meeting scheduled for later in the week. A truce on tariffs between the two economies is set to expire in November. Chinese state news agency Xinhua noted that the sides held exchanges on key economic and trade issues including artificial intelligence.

Unclear response from Beijing

Bessent said the United States put forward the safety mechanism proposal during the Sunday meetings. Reports indicate that China has not yet confirmed its position on this specific notification system. The readout published by Chinese state media did not mention the proposed mechanism.