US Treasury Secretary Bessent: US-China AI Dialogue Formalized, China Heavily Involved in Iran Sanctions

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the 21st (local time) that the United States and China have established an official consultative body to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) risks and will hold follow-up talks in China before long.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC on this day regarding his high-level talks 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 Dialogue and agreed to meet again," adding, "Probably in Shenzhen, China, two months from now."

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

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

Shenzhen will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by China in November, and US 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 they agreed on an extension.

The bilateral trade truce runs until November 10.

Dismissing concerns regarding questions about Chinese President Xi Jinping's rumored health issues, Secretary Bessent said, "Everything is on schedule. President Trump will welcome [President Xi] at Joint Base Andrews, and it will be a terrific visit to the United States."

Regarding sanctions on Iran, Secretary Bessent mentioned two days later on the 23rd of this month, stating that the operations of all Iranian airlines will be suspended.

He also explained that if Iranian aircraft use overseas airports and are provided with fuel or landing services, they will be expelled from the dollar-based settlement system.

When asked whether he discussed the Iran sanctions with China as well, he emphasized, "Yes. Chinese financial authorities, including the Governor of the People's Bank of China, are also heavily involved in this process."

However, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs drew a line, signaling its opposition to the US sanctions in question.

During a regular briefing on the 22nd, when asked for a comment regarding Secretary Bessent's remarks on sanctioning Iranian airlines, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun did not provide details, responding, "The Chinese side consistently opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the United Nations Security Council."

When asked whether it would allow flights by Iranian airlines arriving in Guangzhou and Shanghai on the upcoming 23rd, the spokesperson gave no separate answer.

Secretary Bessent also expressed the stance that AI companies should be held accountable for the AI they develop in-house.

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 group of agents," adding, "They can slow [development down] if they want to."

Secretary Bessent met with Vice Premier He in New York the previous day to coordinate core 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 consultations in the trade and AI fields, and that he proposed to China that they establish a system to notify each other when AI-related accidents occur.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.