US, China to hold discussion on AI in September: report

The U.S. and China will hold discussions over AI in September, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The AI talks, a significant outcome of ‌the U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting in May, will likely take place before Xi's planned Sept. 24 visit to the U.S. However, the dates have not been finalized, the report added.

The White House did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's request for comment.

As economic, political, and military rivals, China and the U.S. are grappling with each ​other's AI capabilities amid an accelerating global AI race. The two countries are weighing how to regulate advanced AI models that could bolster ​military capabilities, enable cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, and disrupt labor markets, the report noted.

The September discussions would be led on the U.S. side by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to the report. The identities of other participants from ​the U.S. and China, as well as the agenda and location of the discussion, are still being discussed as preparations are at an initial stage.

In 2024, former U.S. President Joe Biden ​agreed with Xi that humans, not AI, should control decisions on the use of nuclear weapons after working-level talks in Geneva.

The current ​planned meetings would constitute the first official U.S.-China dialogue on AI under Trump.

The U.S. has already limited exports of some of the most advanced ‌AI chips to China. On Monday, Axios reported that the Trump administration is showing signs that it could ban cutting-edge Chinese AI models.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are discussing restrictions on overseas access to the most powerful Chinese-developed AI models, amid concerns about the hacking potential of Anthropic's (ANTHRO) Mythos, the report noted.

China's priority list for the talks includes Mythos, how the ​U.S. will control the release of future advanced frontier models, and if Washington will impose restrictions on Chinese ​open-weight models, the report added, citing analysts.

"This is the first meeting, they're unlikely to solve any major problems. I think they will try to agree to some basic terms, ​like what defines a frontier AI model," said Paul Triolo, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, the report noted.

In May, Bessent said that future discussions would be "aimed at halting proliferation of powerful AI models... to non-state ​actors" and that meetings could begin "within ​the next four to eight weeks".

After ⁠Trump's visit, China's foreign ministry confirmed the two countries had agreed to establish intergovernmental AI talks, but Beijing has not commented publicly since, the report noted.