Scott Bessent confirms weekend meeting with He Lifeng days before Xi’s US visit

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Tuesday that he will hold a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng over the weekend, just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for a summit with US President Donald Trump. Bessent stated during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that "With China, we have had some very good private discussions, and I look forward to those continuing this weekend when I meet my Chinese counterpart Vice [Premier] He Lifeng."

He was responding to questions regarding the possible actions Washington might take against Chinese banks for alleged facilitation of commercial transactions with Iran. Bessent is expected to discuss the probable economic outcomes of the Trump-Xi summit and initiate preliminary dialogues on artificial intelligence safety and governance.

The South China Morning Post reported last week that the United States and China plan to incorporate the long-awaited AI dialogue into a broader economic meeting. The two leaders had agreed in Beijing in May to establish an intergovernmental dialogue on AI, which had been conducted separately from the economic talks led by Bessent and He for months.

The AI channel has faced challenges in making progress, with crucial details of the planned discussions still unresolved as Xi's visit draws nearer. Bessent is now anticipated to address both AI and economic matters in a single gathering with He, rather than hold separate high-level talks. The US Treasury Secretary leads the US side in both channels, and the compressed timeline ahead of the summit has made it increasingly difficult to arrange a separate second meeting.

The latest arrangements echo those of May, when Bessent and He met in Seoul just days before Trump visited Xi in Beijing.