US and China should stay clear-eyed on AI cooperation and competition, Bessent says

US and China must maintain a clear perspective on the complexities of their relationship as they pursue cooperation and competition in artificial intelligence, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday. The Secretary, set to visit China next week for President Trump's third meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, outlined plans during remarks to the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York to establish a constructive relationship based on balance and reciprocity.

The upcoming dialogue in Shenzhen, coinciding with the November 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit, aims to address superintelligence (SI) risks and prevent misunderstandings between the two systems. Bessent emphasized the importance of exchanging best practices for evaluating and testing AI models before release and maintaining human oversight.

The sides also agreed to create a direct alert system for serious incidents, a proposal previously discussed during the September White House meeting between Trump and Xi. While Bessent acknowledged the differences in interests between the US and China, he stressed the need to recognize when common purpose should take precedence over competing interests.

He also highlighted ongoing trade initiatives, including a Board of Trade for determining tariff cuts on $30 billion of non-sensitive goods and a Board of Investment to facilitate market access for American companies in China. Despite the trade deficit between the two nations, the US aims to "de-risk" rather than "decouple" from trade with China.