US and China Agree to AI Safety Incident Notification Mechanism Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on September 20 that the US and China had agreed, after roughly eight hours of talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters, to establish a bilateral AI dialogue including a formal notification mechanism for AI-related incidents that rise to a national-security level — a first-of-its-kind arrangement between the two governments. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said existing US export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment were not on the agenda and remain unchanged by the talks. The agreement, described as the most substantive AI-governance step the two countries have taken since AI competition escalated in 2022, lands four days ahead of Xi Jinping's September 24 Washington summit with President Trump, where AI governance and the expiring 90-day tariff truce are expected to be central agenda items.