US Says 'US-China AI Talks' Formalized... Follow-up Meeting in China

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on the 21st (local time) that an official consultative body has been established with China to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) risks, and that follow-up talks will be held in China before long.

In an interview with CNBC that day, regarding the high-level talks held the previous day in New York with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to coordinate agendas for the US-China summit, Secretary Bessent said, "We have formalized the 'US-China AI Talks' and agreed to meet again," adding, "Probably in about two months, it will be Shenzhen, China."

"We want to begin discussing protocols," Secretary Bessent added. "By doing so, both sides will be able to agree on what major AI risks are, whether out-of-control AI agents are the problem, or non-state actors and non-state actors in cyberspace are the problem."

This is interpreted as an intention to establish rules and procedures to prevent and respond to risks posed by AI through the US-China AI talks.

In Shenzhen, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by China will be held in November, and U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend, leading major cabinet members.

Regarding the extension of the US-China trade truce, Secretary Bessent said he discussed it with Vice Premier He, but did not specifically mention whether an agreement had been reached on the extension.

The bilateral trade truce runs until November 10.

Asked about rumors regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping's health issues, Secretary Bessent said, "Everything is on schedule. President Trump will welcome [President Xi] at Joint Base Andrews, and it's going to be a terrific state visit."

Regarding sanctions on Iran, Secretary Bessent mentioned the 23rd of this month and stated that the operations of all Iranian airlines will be suspended.

He also explained that if Iranian aircraft use fuel or landing services at overseas airports, they will be expelled from the dollar-based payment system.

Asked if he had discussed sanctions against Iran with China, he emphasized, "Yes. Chinese financial authorities, including People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, are also heavily involved in this process."

Secretary Bessent also expressed his stance that AI companies should be held responsible for the AI systems they develop.

Regarding the incident where OpenAI's AI model hacked the open-source platform Hugging Face, Secretary Bessent emphasized, "This is an incident for which OpenAI's management is responsible, not a rogue group of agents," adding, "They can slow down [development speed] if they want to."

Secretary Bessent met with Vice Premier He in New York the previous day to coordinate key agendas ahead of the White House meeting between President Trump and President Xi on the 24th.

Following the talks, Secretary Bessent stated that they had very successful discussions in the areas of trade and AI, and mentioned that he proposed to China establishing a notification system for when AI-related accidents occur.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.