AI emerges as key issue ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Artificial intelligence is expected to feature on the agenda of high-level US-China talks ahead of Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, the South China Morning Post reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions told the Hong Kong-based outlet that the two sides are considering including AI-related dialogue — alongside existing economic topics such as trade — in senior-level preparatory talks to be held days before the summit.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary who has served as Washington's lead representative in high-level talks with Beijing since last year, is expected to address both issues — the economy and AI — at those meetings, the sources said.

However, as the summit date draws closer, it is becoming increasingly difficult to schedule a separate high-level meeting dedicated solely to AI discussions, sources said.

Bessent and his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, along with their respective delegations, held a similar preparatory meeting in Seoul days before the Beijing summit in May.

A comparable pre-summit meeting is expected this time as well, though officials have declined to specify a venue or date.

Trump and Xi agreed at their May Beijing summit to pursue government-to-government dialogue on AI.

In recent months, AI talks between the two countries have been treated as a separate channel from trade negotiations, but the two sides have struggled to advance those discussions.

One source familiar with the matter said He and Bessent are likely to cover all three areas — a trade committee, an investment committee and an AI working group — but that only the trade committee is expected to produce concrete outcomes at the Washington summit.

He oversees China's National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning body responsible for supervising the country's industrial development, including AI, the Post noted.

The Chinese side has expressed frustration with Washington's approach to AI dialogue, sources said, believing the US aims not only to limit the harmful consequences of AI but also to constrain China's own development capabilities.

Tensions between the two countries over AI have been intensifying, with the US government recently singling out Chinese firms including DeepSeek, Moonshot and Alibaba, accusing them of infringing on the intellectual property of American AI companies.

The summit is also drawing attention for its timing, coming ahead of major political events in both countries.

Trump faces US midterm elections on Nov. 3, while Xi has the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee and next year's 21st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on his calendar.

Another source said both Trump and Xi must manage internal opposition within their own governments to ensure the visit proceeds smoothly.

Trump has said on multiple occasions that Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will visit the United States on Sept. 24.