Bessent is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York as part of broader negotiations covering artificial intelligence, trade, rare earth minerals and other economic issues. #
The United States is open to discussing potential shared risks from artificial intelligence with China as officials from both countries prepare for economic and technology talks, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
"The United States remains the leader in AI. And we are open to discussions on avoiding shared risks and avoiding bifurcation of our two systems," Bessent said in a statement to Axios. "We expect our discussions to cover both open and closed weight models."
Bessent is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York as part of broader negotiations covering artificial intelligence, trade, rare earth minerals and other economic issues. The meetings are expected to last several hours, with additional working-level discussions potentially continuing into Monday, according to sources familiar with the talks.
The AI discussions come as both governments face growing pressure to address the risks associated with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence systems while maintaining their competitive positions.
The Trump administration has rejected calls from some technology leaders and researchers to slow AI development, arguing that the United States must continue advancing quickly in competition with China.
At the same time, officials have increasingly discussed the need for coordination on certain AI risks, including safety standards and the potential consequences of increasingly powerful models.
Bessent's involvement places him at the center of the administration's economic and technology discussions with Beijing. Alongside United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Bessent has become one of the administration's main officials handling China-related negotiations, according to a senior administration official cited by the outlet.
The Treasury secretary has also played a role in broader AI policy discussions within the administration. He was among the cabinet officials who joined President Donald Trump during a June G7 press conference focused on a U.S.-led effort to coordinate international approaches to artificial intelligence.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously led high-profile AI discussions during the G20 summit in North Carolina, while Bessent has taken a leading role in the administration's engagement with China.
The upcoming meetings come ahead of a planned September 24 summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, adding another layer of importance to the talks.
AI executives have increasingly called for cooperation between Washington and Beijing on safety standards, arguing that some risks associated with advanced AI systems could affect countries regardless of political boundaries.
Chinese officials have also expressed support for international cooperation on AI development while criticizing proposals that they say could slow innovation. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said this week that "all parties should jointly promote the open and inclusive development of AI for good and for all," while warning against what it described as "fear-mongering" around the technology.
One issue likely to arise in discussions is the future of AI models with different levels of access. Open-weight models allow developers and researchers to access and modify a model's underlying parameters, while closed-weight models restrict access and are controlled by the companies that develop them.
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