US Treasury chief hails eight-hour US-China talks on trade and AI ahead of summit

In New York, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and senior US trade official Jamieson Greer for an eight-hour session that Bessent described as "very successful." The participants explored possible agreements on trade, artificial intelligence and other strategic issues, and agreed to set up a US-China AI dialogue with a notification system for security threats. A one-on-one discussion between Bessent and He took place at JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters, with Chinese trade representative Li Chenggang also in attendance.

Both sides expressed a desire to reduce frictions over trade, technology and critical minerals, and to possibly extend the existing trade truce. The meetings are intended to lay groundwork for the scheduled summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping on Thursday in Washington.