Chinese officials said both countries agreed to begin formal AI governance discussions following recent talks between President Trump and President Xi Jinping.
Beijing confirmed that China and the United States agreed to launch government-to-government discussions on AI governance following recent talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Key Takeaways
- China said it and the U.S. agreed to begin official discussions on AI governance.
- Chinese officials said both countries should cooperate on the development and governance of AI systems.
- The announcement follows recent Trump-Xi discussions that reportedly included AI “guardrails” and advanced AI systems.
- At present, there are no formal details, timeline, or structure for the discussions.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that China and the United States agreed to launch an intergovernmental dialogue on AI governance, signaling potential cooperation between the two countries in managing risks associated with advanced AI systems.
During a Foreign Ministry press briefing, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said President Trump and President Xi held “constructive exchanges” on AI and agreed to establish government-level discussions on the topic.
Guo added, “As two leading AI powers, China and the U.S. need to work together to promote the development and improve the governance of AI.”
The comments followed recent discussions between Trump and Xi during Trump’s visit to China, which reportedly covered AI safeguards, advanced semiconductor controls, and broader technology issues.
According to Reuters, Trump told reporters last week that he discussed AI “guardrails” with Xi during their meetings. Reuters separately reported that U.S. and Chinese officials were discussing safeguards for advanced AI models.
The United States and China are currently the two largest developers of advanced AI systems and related infrastructure. To date, the relationship between China and the U.S. has been mostly frosty, with the U.S. taking measures to slow China’s progress in AI model development and compute.
Neither government provided details on the scope of the planned dialogue or which specific topics would be covered. No timetable for future meetings or formal negotiations has been announced.
