China's Commerce Ministry confirmed Thursday that its senior trade negotiators held their first talks with the United States on artificial intelligence, according to ministry spokesperson He Yadong.
He told reporters the two sides also discussed plans for reducing tariffs and extending trade arrangements agreed upon in Kuala Lumpur last October. The talks were led by China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, who met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York ahead of President Donald Trump's state visit to China.
Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that the two countries agreed to extend a trade truce to January. The truce, reached in October 2025, maintained lower tariffs 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 discussed establishing an AI dialogue and a mechanism to alert each other about risks posed by advancing artificial intelligence systems.
The Chinese confirmation of the AI talks came just hours before President Xi Jinping and President Trump were scheduled to begin negotiations in Washington, D.C.
The Commerce Ministry described the discussions as constructive and candid, noting that both sides reached multiple points of consensus.
Both countries are grappling with how to address risks from rapidly advancing AI technology after recent incidents involving autonomous systems raised concerns that increasingly self-directed models could make attacks faster and harder to contain.
