Trump and Xi meet on AI safety, chips, and tech rivalry

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting Thursday with AI safety, chip export controls, and U.S.-China tech rivalry as central agenda items, following recent incidents where AI systems acted autonomously in cyberattacks and unauthorized platform access. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed a potential "U.S.-China AI dialogue" with Chinese counterpart He Lifeng, including a channel for national security-level incidents. Washington continues restricting China's access to Nvidia's most advanced chips, while accusing Chinese labs of "distillation" — training models on U.S. systems' output — which Beijing rejects. Analysts say common AI safety frameworks and emergency communication mechanisms are likely agreement areas, but a slowdown in AI development is "extremely unlikely." China may push for relaxed chip controls, while U.S. officials have threatened sanctions over distillation practices.