US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced the agreement after talks with China’s He Lifeng in New York. (Reuters photo)
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington and Beijing had formalised a “board of trade” that had been discussed during Trump’s May meeting with Xi in Beijing. “We just had a very successful engagement with the Chinese on trade and AI, completing where we left off in Beijing,” Bessent said at JPMorgan’s headquarters in New York, where the two delegations held talks before the summit. Bessent said the new dialogue could help the two countries develop “a shared vision of common goals and common threats”.
The United States and China have agreed to establish a formal dialogue on artificial intelligence, adding a new area of cooperation between the world’s two biggest AI powers ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Washington. The two sides also moved ahead with plans for a trade mechanism first discussed when Trump met Xi in Beijing. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced the agreement after talks with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng in New York on Sunday.
Trump is due to welcome Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday before the leaders hold their summit on Thursday, which will include a state dinner for the Chinese president.
China has sought to extend the truce until the end of Trump’s second term, according to people familiar with the discussions. The US, however, has been pushing for a shorter extension of about six months.