U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Sunday a "successful" meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, setting an optimistic tone for the high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24 in Washington, D.C.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng shake hands during trade talks at OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) headquarters in Paris, France, March 16, 2026.
The U.s. Treasury | Via Reuters
Emerging from the discussions alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Bessent highlighted significant progress on crucial fronts, including artificial intelligence and trade. A pivotal outcome was the discussion around establishing a "U.S.-China AI Dialogue." The U.S. proposed a notification mechanism for AI-related incidents that could escalate to a national security level, emphasizing the importance of moving from opacity to greater transparency between the world's leading AI powers.
This initiative comes amidst escalating debate in Washington regarding AI safety and its national security implications, as both nations intensely compete for technological supremacy. While top AI executives, including those from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, have recently cautioned about AI's potential to spiral out of control and called for urgent guardrails and regulations, the Trump administration has historically favored voluntary, national-security-focused safeguards over broader mandatory rules.
On the economic front, Greer confirmed that the U.S.-China Board of Trade has been "operationalized." This new mechanism is designed to streamline trade negotiations by identifying a "critical mass of goods"—such as consumer and low-tech items from China, and energy products, agricultural goods, and potentially medical devices from the U.S.—that could be considered separately in future trade measures.
The upcoming visit by President Xi, his first during Trump's second term, is expected to feature high-stakes economic dialogue. The current U.S.-China trade truce, which includes a suspension of heightened reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports and Chinese commitments on rare-earth exports and U.S. agricultural purchases, is slated to expire on November 10. The summit's discussions are anticipated to tackle the future of these tariffs and broader trade relations.
Adding to the gravitas of the event, CNBC reported that a state dinner during Xi's visit will host prominent figures including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Citigroup chief Jane Fraser, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, underscoring the critical importance of these diplomatic and economic engagements.
