China and U.S. hold first AI talks, discuss extending trade truce

China's Commerce Ministry confirmed Thursday that senior trade negotiators held their first talks with the U.S. on artificial intelligence, also discussing tariff reductions and extending trade arrangements from October. Spokesperson He Yadong confirmed Vice Premier He Lifeng met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York before the Trump-Xi summit. Bessent said Wednesday the two countries agreed to extend a trade truce to January, keeping tariffs lower and limiting rare earth export controls. The AI dialogue includes plans for a mechanism to alert each other about AI risks. The confirmation came hours before Xi and Trump were scheduled to begin talks in Washington, D.C., during Xi's state visit.