US, China to jointly address AI risks; Bessent says follow-up talks likely in Shenzhen

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday (local time) that the United States and China have established a formal channel to address AI risks and that a follow-up meeting on AI would take place in China in the near future.

Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said the high-level talks he held with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York on Monday had "formalized the US-China AI dialogue" and that the two sides had agreed to meet again. "It will probably be Shenzhen, China, in about two months," he said.

Bessent said the two sides want to begin discussing protocols so that both countries can reach agreement on what the major AI risks are — whether the concern is uncontrollable AI agents or non-state actors operating in cyberspace.

The remarks signal an intent to use the US-China AI dialogue to develop rules and procedures for preventing and responding to AI-related risks. Shenzhen is set to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November under Chinese chairmanship. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend APEC alongside senior cabinet members.

Monday's meeting between Bessent and He was aimed at coordinating the agenda ahead of a US-China summit at the White House on Thursday. Bessent said he discussed an extension of the bilateral trade truce with He but did not specify whether the two sides had reached an agreement on extending it. The current truce runs through Nov. 10. Reuters and other outlets have reported that while both countries agree on extending the truce, they remain at odds over its duration.

Asked about widely circulating reports of Chinese President Xi Jinping's health on Sunday (local time), Bessent shrugged off the concerns. "Everything is on schedule. President Trump will receive him at Andrews Air Force Base, and it will be a great visit to the United States," he said.

On sanctions against Iran, Bessent cited Wednesday as the date by which all Iranian airlines would be forced to halt operations. Any entity providing fuel, landing services or other support to Iranian aircraft at overseas airports would be cut off from the dollar payment system, he said, making it impossible for Iranian carriers to operate normally after Wednesday.

Asked whether he had also discussed Iran sanctions with China, Bessent said yes, adding that Chinese financial authorities — including People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng — were "very much involved in this process."

On the growing debate over whether to slow the pace of AI development, Bessent said he believes AI companies should be held accountable for the AI they develop, rather than relying on political or regulatory intervention.

Regarding an incident in which an OpenAI AI model hacked the open-source platform Hugging Face, Bessent said responsibility lies with OpenAI's leadership, not with a group of agents. "They can slow down if they want to," he said.