U.S. Proposes AI Incident Alert System With China

The United States proposed a bilateral notification mechanism for artificial intelligence incidents that could affect national security during weekend talks in New York. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in the lobby of JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters ahead of a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The mechanism would allow each side to alert the other about AI events that might cross borders and raise security concerns. U.S. officials describe the aim as increasing transparency on cross-border AI activity between the two leading AI powers.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joined the session and described the discussions as laying groundwork to operationalize a bilateral Board of Trade the leaders discussed in Beijing in May. Officials are continuing to define the board’s scope and priorities.

Negotiations also covered which items could be treated as “nonsensitive” for lower tariffs. Potential categories under discussion include consumer goods, agricultural products, energy items and medical devices. Specific product lists and tariff levels are still being worked out.

Chinese officials described the exchanges as candid, in-depth and constructive and said AI-related topics were part of the agenda, without providing details.

Bessent told reporters, “We want a shared vision of common goals and common threats,” and emphasized moving from opacity to greater transparency on cross-border AI activity.

George Chen, partner and chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, wrote that the continuation of dialogue is significant and that an AI risk notification mechanism could set a precedent other countries may follow.

U.S. officials describe the notification mechanism as intended to manage cross-border AI risks without imposing restrictions that would slow domestic AI development.