US, China officials meet in New York before Trump-Xi Summit; talk trade, AI and more

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng met in New York on Thursday to pave the way for an upcoming summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The talks, led by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Li Chenggang, covered a range of topics, including trade, investment, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Iran war.

After 10 a.m. New York time, He and Greer arrived at JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s midtown Manhattan offices, where the negotiations took place. Bessent expressed optimism about the dialogue between the two nations, while He Lifeng departed later that day, pledging an announcement would follow.

This was Bessent's fourth face-to-face with He since September 2020, following Trump's visit to Beijing in May. The pair last met in Seoul just days before Trump's trip. A trade truce between the two economies, characterized by reduced tariffs and export restrictions, is set to expire in November. Despite this, neither country has announced new tariffs, with a delay until after the summit.

To this end, both sides have worked to ease barriers on $30 billion worth of products from each other under the Board of Trade mechanism.

AI has emerged as a new contentious issue between the US and China since their last meeting. Accusations of Chinese firms copying American models have surfaced, with Beijing rejecting these claims as baseless and threatening retaliation. Meanwhile, US tech leaders have pushed for pacing AI development for safety reasons, a stance China has dismissed as "fear-mongering."

Bessent cautioned that "there is no day after tomorrow" if China outpaces the US in AI, emphasizing the need for constructive talks to avoid risks and system bifurcation.