US and China agree to establish AI incident communication channel

The United States and China have agreed to establish a direct communication channel for artificial intelligence-related incidents, creating a limited safety mechanism between the world’s two leading AI powers.

The agreement emerged from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Washington and was confirmed by both governments. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the two sides would establish a bilateral communication channel for “AI incidents” and launch a formal China-US AI Dialogue to exchange views on the technology’s risks and benefits. The next round is scheduled for November.

The White House described the arrangement in similar terms, calling it a communication channel for incidents involving what the Trump administration now officially refers to as “super intelligence,” or SI. Neither government has yet explained exactly what would qualify as an incident, how the channel would operate or which agencies would use it.

The mechanism had been under discussion before the Trump-Xi summit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed an AI incident notification system during talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York last weekend, amid concerns ranging from cyberattacks and biological misuse to malfunctioning autonomous systems and threats to critical infrastructure.

Despite agreeing to the safety channel, Trump made clear on Saturday that he was unwilling to share America’s AI advances with Beijing.

“The United States of America is not going to be putting on brakes,” he told reporters outside the White House, arguing that calls to slow development would undermine the US advantage over China.

Asked about closer US-China cooperation on AI development, Trump was similarly dismissive.

“I would rather not integrate because we’re leading by a lot,” he said. “When you’re leading, you don’t open it up to each other.”

The comments contrasted with the more cooperative tone struck by Xi during his visit. The Chinese leader told Trump that although the two countries compete in AI, they could “cooperate even more” and should work together to prevent its misuse and abuse.

“AI must be kept under human control,” Xi said, calling for a “people-centered” approach and continued bilateral dialogue on risks and benefits. China has repeatedly promoted similar principles through its broader global AI governance initiatives.

Trump, meanwhile, indicated that AI had occupied relatively little of his discussions with Xi. “We didn’t spend that much time talking about it,” he said on Saturday, adding that much of their discussion centered on his decision to replace the term “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence.”