US-China to open special channel to deal with AI risks

Chinese President Xi Jinping has left Washington after completing a three-day state visit. At the final stage of the visit, the United States and China have agreed to launch a special channel for mutual communication to deal with any major risk or unintended incident arising from the use of artificial intelligence or AI. According to information released by the White House, this initiative will create the opportunity for rapid communication between the two countries on important AI-related incidents.

During the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington, discussions were held on trade, Iran, Taiwan, Ukraine and the situation on the Korean Peninsula in addition to AI. The two leaders have said they will hold two more meetings later this year. They are scheduled to meet again at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC summit in Shenzhen, China in November and at the G-20 summit in Miami, United States in December.

However, although a new framework for cooperation on AI has been created in the discussions, the major disputes in the technological competition between the two countries have not been fully resolved. Both the United States and China view AI as a strategically important technology. In this situation, the arrangement for rapid exchange of information if any AI-related incident creates a serious risk for national security has emerged as an important new aspect of the relationship between the two countries.

Some understanding has also been reached on the trade issue. The trade-related pause between the two countries that was due to end on November 10 has been extended until January 10, 2027. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries will hold further discussions on economic issues using this additional time. As a result, the opportunity for discussions on tariffs, product imports and other commercial disputes has increased a little more.

According to White House information, China will import at least 10 million metric tons of US coal every year in 2027 and 2028. Alongside this, consensus has been reached on providing more favourable tariff benefits on $30 billion of non-sensitive goods between the two countries. It has also been informed that a new board on trade and investment between the two countries will be made operational.

The two leaders also discussed various regional and international crises including Taiwan, Iran, Russia and North Korea in the meeting. The White House said the United States and China have agreed to conduct relations on the basis of strategic stability. In addition, the matter of China sending two giant pandas to the Atlanta Zoo in the United States has also become one of the discussed aspects of the visit.

The visit was also rich in various formalities and state arrangements. Xi Jinping took part in programmes such as military parade, state banquet at the White House and inspection of historical documents of the United States. However, analyses have indicated that rather than any major groundbreaking agreement in the visit, the matter of continuing discussions between the two countries and keeping tensions in the relationship under control has received more importance.