Washington — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held talks Sunday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, days before President Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a closely watched summit.
“In New York City, Vice Premier He Lifeng and I are continuing our discussions on the U.S.-China economic and trade relationship ahead of @POTUS’ historic summit with President Xi in Washington,” Bessent said in a post on X. “These talks help lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance America’s economic interests and deliver results for the American people.”
Bessent and He, who leads China’s economic affairs, met at JPMorgan Chase’s Manhattan headquarters as Washington and Beijing worked to prepare the ground for the presidents’ meeting later this week. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also took part. Before the discussions began, Greer said the two sides were “deepening their engagement to facilitate mutually beneficial trade between the two largest economies in the world.”
Afterward, Bessent described the talks on trade and artificial intelligence as “very successful,” adding that the countries had agreed to hold another round of discussions focused on AI.
The treasury secretary said officials examined a proposed “notification mechanism” for sharing information about AI incidents tied to national security. He characterized the effort as a move away from an “opaque” relationship toward greater transparency between the world’s two leading AI powers.
The officials also discussed tariffs and the newly operationalized “board of trade.” Bessent said the panel is working to identify non-sensitive products — from consumer and low-tech goods to energy, agricultural products and possibly medical devices — that could be exchanged in a more balanced manner.
Bessent and Greer said the broader purpose of Sunday’s meeting was to support the relationship between Trump and Xi. “Most importantly, what we’re doing is we’re helping President Trump and President Xi continue their relationship,” they said.
“The Trump administration will continue to pursue balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American farmers, manufacturers, and workers,” Greer said.
Trump is scheduled to host Xi at the White House on Thursday for a summit and state dinner. It will be the leaders’ second face-to-face meeting this year, following their talks in Beijing in May. Xi last visited the White House in 2015.
Artificial intelligence is expected to feature prominently at the summit, particularly after industry leaders called for imposing safeguards earlier this month. Trump and Xi are also likely to discuss an expiring trade agreement and the supply of critical minerals.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said Sunday that an AI agreement should be “the first agenda item on the Trump-Xi Jinping summit” and should establish “basic standards.”
“That should include international monitoring; it should include checks through the data centers, where you can tell whether a model is being used for inference or training,” Khanna said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” He added that any framework should rely on “enforceable and verifiable tools.”
