US and China Agree on AI Safety Channel and Military Crisis Communications

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to establish a new channel for handling AI-related incidents and accelerate work on military crisis communications, following a three-day summit in Washington, both sides announced Saturday. The two nations also agreed to continue cooperation on a Board of Trade for selected bilateral issues, which the White House said began operating this week, and extended a trade truce by two months. China pledged to import at least 10 million metric tons of U.S. coal in 2027 and 2028, while both sides committed to addressing rare earths supply concerns and reducing reciprocal tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of goods. The summit produced no major breakthroughs on fundamental differences, but analysts noted the incremental steps were significant, with working groups and crisis-management mechanisms aimed at making stability more durable. Both sides agreed to meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 in Florida, and jointly called on Iran to honor its nuclear commitments and avoid tolls on international waterways.