Following talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng, the US and China have proposed a direct communication channel for reporting AI-related incidents, particularly those involving autonomous systems that could be mistaken for attacks. The plan is expected to be discussed further when Xi Jinping visits Washington on September 24, with additional AI safety talks scheduled two months later.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States has proposed a 'notification mechanism' allowing the U.S. and China to alert each other about AI incidents that could threaten national security. The proposal emerged from weekend talks between Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York, held ahead of a Thursday meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping. Officials also said they had agreed to operationalize a new 'Board of Trade' first discussed in May and were exploring tariff reductions on nonsensitive goods like agriculture, energy and medical devices.
MS NOW, CNN and Politico are suing President Trump after he barred their journalists from White House grounds over the weekend, citing dissatisfaction with their coverage of his administration. The outlets argue the ban violates the First Amendment, and their lawsuit is being filed in the same court handling a similar case brought by The Associated Press.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US and Chinese officials have begun talks on a US China AI Dialogue framework, under which the two nations would notify each other of AI incidents posing national security risks. The initiative revives discussions from Trump's May visit to Beijing and would include recurring meetings to align on shared AI threats and goals.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and China discussed creating a new AI dialogue and a mechanism to notify each other of AI incidents with national security implications, as part of weekend talks preceding this week's Trump-Xi meeting. Details on which agencies would run the system or what would trigger an alert remain undefined, though experts say the agreement to keep talking marks a meaningful diplomatic step.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were successful, covering AI and trade ahead of the Sept. 24 Trump-Xi summit. The two sides discussed launching a 'U.S.-China AI Dialogue' and a notification mechanism for AI incidents reaching a national security threshold, while USTR Jamieson Greer said the countries have activated a joint trade board to identify goods for separate negotiation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York to discuss economic and trade issues, including AI, tariffs and rare earths, ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also joined the discussions, which Bessent described as laying the groundwork for the leaders' meeting.
CNBC reported that the U.S. Treasury Department is considering tapping its roughly $950 billion General Account to help finance its bond buyback program. Senior Treasury officials did not specify how much of that fund would be used but confirmed it remains an option after Secretary Scott Bessent unexpectedly expanded the buyback effort last week. Treasury yields fell following the report.
The Trump administration's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved to boost bond purchases last week, hoping to push yields down and ease the government's debt-servicing burden. Yields dipped briefly but climbed back to pre-intervention levels by Friday, with the 30-year bond trading near multi-decade highs. Trump has responded by attacking the Federal Reserve and even threatening Switzerland over its lower rates.