US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York on September 20. The officials discussed AI safety, trade policy, investment frameworks, and the governance of critical minerals. Bessent described the meeting as very successful.
The dialogue on AI focused on establishing guardrails for open-weight and closed-weight models to prevent misuse by malign actors. Both sides agreed to hold a dedicated follow-up discussion on artificial intelligence after the upcoming summit.
Regarding critical minerals, the US and China initiated preparatory talks on governance. This issue is significant due to China's current dominance in the global supply of rare-earth elements and its impact on international technology supply chains.
The meeting served as a final preparation for the summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, scheduled for September 24. A key point of concern is the US-China trade truce, which is set to expire on November 10.
