US Treasury chief says meeting with China on trade, AI ‘very successful’

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent touted a “very successful” meeting on trade and artificial intelligence with Chinese officials Sunday, adding that both sides discussed greater communication on AI threats.

“We just had a very successful engagement with the Chinese,” Bessent told reporters after the all-day meeting with vice-premier He Lifeng.

The discussions, which also included top US trade official Jamieson Greer, lasted around eight hours and set the stage for possible agreements on trade, AI and other issues before a summit of the countries’ top leaders.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are due to meet Thursday in Washington.

Bessent said the US proposed a notification mechanism between the two countries for incidents like security threats.

“What we discussed was setting up a mechanism. So it’s going to be called the US-China AI dialogue,” he said. “We’ve agreed to meet again.”

Bessent and He also spoke one-on-one during the gathering that took place at JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in New York.

Chinese official Li Chenggang, who was elevated to a top-level international trade representative post shortly before the meetings, was present too.

Greer added that it is “imperative that we are able to work together.”

Both sides are looking to ease tensions on trade, technology and other strategic concerns.

These include the possible extension of a trade truce and guardrails for artificial intelligence development.

US officials are also looking to ensure the continued flow of rare earth magnets and critical minerals that are vital for US manufacturers.

Working-level meetings could continue into Monday, a source familiar with discussions earlier told AFP.

Previous negotiations saw China pledge purchases of US agriculture goods, and their fulfilment of the terms could also be an issue under scrutiny.