US and China resume AI safety talks as a Trump–Xi summit takes shape
American and Chinese officials held AI safety talks in mid-September as both governments prepare the groundwork for a leader-level summit, a rare moment of direct technical dialogue between the two countries' AI establishments.
Senior American and Chinese officials held a fresh round of AI safety discussions in mid-September, part of the broader groundwork being laid for an expected summit between the two countries’ leaders. The talks come at a moment when AI has become one of the more consistently discussed items in the broader US–China economic and technology relationship.
Direct technical dialogue between the two countries on AI safety specifically remains relatively rare compared with the volume of public rhetoric each side directs at the other’s AI ambitions, which makes even a modest, process-focused meeting notable. Neither government has published a detailed agenda, but the timing — ahead of a planned leader-level summit — suggests both sides see some value in having working-level alignment on safety questions even as they continue to compete aggressively on AI capability and chip access.
The talks follow a period in which Chinese commentary has increasingly framed America’s own AI security concerns and export-control debates as an opportunity for China to advance its domestic AI industry, adding an extra layer of strategic calculation to what might otherwise look like a narrow technical dialogue.