Speaking to CNBC from Beijing during Donald Trump’s visit to China, Bessent said the two countries were preparing to establish a framework for AI safety and best practices. The move comes on the heels of the globally-intensifying competition around the technology.
“The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking,” Bessent told CNBC’s Joe Kernen on Thursday, May 14.
According to the treasury secretary, the discussions will focus on safety standards to protect advanced AI systems from falling into the hands of dangerous groups or non-state actors.
“We’re gonna set up a protocol in terms of how we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models,” he said.
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Bessent also made it clear that the US believes its current lead in artificial intelligence allows these talks to happen. He said, “The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead.”
The remarks came during Trump’s high-profile visit to Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping for a two-day summit focused on trade, technology and regional security.
AI has increasingly become a major point of strategic competition between Washington and Beijing. This is because companies race to build more powerful large language models.
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Bessent told CNBC he expected another major leap in AI capabilities soon and highlighted upcoming releases from Google’s Gemini and OpenAI. Meanwhile, the US has continued with its restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports to China, especially chips produced by Nvidia.
When asked about reports that Washington may allow sales of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to some Chinese tech firms, Bessent said there had been “a lot of back and forth” on the issue.
The Beijing summit also touched on Taiwan, a long-standing crisis between the two countries.
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Meanwhile, Xi stressed that Taiwan remained the most sensitive issue in US-China relations. Bessent said that Trump would speak more about Taiwan “in the coming days.”
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