AI fight shadows final preparations for Xi Jinping’s White House visit

Washington and Beijing are discussing folding a long-awaited intergovernmental AI dialogue into a broader economic meeting in the days before Chinese President Xi Jinping meets US President Donald Trump at the White House, according to several people familiar with the arrangements. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the American lead on both the AI talks and the economic talks with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, is expected to handle the two issues in a single meeting, with sources saying a second high-level meeting so close to the summit was becoming difficult to arrange. The two leaders agreed in Beijing in May to launch the AI dialogue, which has been treated separately from trade talks led by Bessent and He, and Chinese officials are said to view US requests as limiting both harmful AI outcomes and Beijing's ability to develop its own capabilities.

Advertisement ExclusiveAI fight shadows final preparations for Xi Jinping’s White House visit Chinese side is said to view US requests as limiting both harmful outcomes from AI and Beijing’s ability to develop its own capabilities 4-MIN READ4-MIN Rising tensions over artificial intelligence https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article are shaping the final preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping https://www.scmp.com/topics/xi-jinping?module=inline&pgtype=article ’s visit to the United States https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/series/3364401/xis-2026-trip-us?module=inline&pgtype=article?module=inline&pgtype=article . Washington and Beijing are discussing the possibility of folding a long-awaited AI dialogue into a broader economic meeting in the days before Xi meets US President Donald Trump, according to several people familiar with the arrangements. The two leaders agreed in Beijing in May to launch an intergovernmental dialogue on AI. For months, that channel was treated separately from the trade talks led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng https://www.scmp.com/topics/he-lifeng?module=inline&pgtype=article , with both sides struggling to make progress https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364549/xis-us-visit-approaches-basic-details-planned-ai-talks-remain-uncertain?module=inline&pgtype=article in the dialogue. Sources now say Bessent is expected to handle the two issues in one meeting. Bessent is the American lead on both the AI talks with Beijing and the economic talks. The sources said that holding a second high-level meeting so close to the summit was becoming difficult to arrange. Development of AI in China has always been part of He’s portfolio, as the Chinese vice-premier is in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission https://www.scmp.com/topics/national-development-and-reform-commission?module=inline&pgtype=article , China’s powerful economic planning agency overseeing industrial development in the country, including AI. The arrangements are similar to the ones in May, when Bessent and He met in Seoul days before Trump sat down with Xi in Beijing https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/series/3346312/trumps-2026-trip-china?module=inline&pgtype=article . Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1x AI-generated voice