US Opens Dialogue with China on Superintelligence

Scott Bessent announced at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations gala that both countries are creating a dialogue on superintelligence to address shared risks, best practices for testing advanced models and how to maintain human control. There will also be a direct channel to alert each other to serious incidents involving models.

On trade, he cited a Board of Trade and a Board of Investment, tariff improvements for $30 billion in non-sensitive goods in each direction and China’s purchase of at least 25 million tonnes of soybeans over two years. His motto: “de-risking, not decoupling.”

Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary, spoke at the 60th anniversary gala of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations [PENDING DATA: date and city] with a message of détente toward Beijing. The central line of the speech is that Washington wants to reduce risks with China, not separate from it.

Bessent turned to history to support his thesis. He recalled that in 1784 the ship Empress of China set sail from New York bound for Canton, before the United States had a president or a constitution. His conclusion is that trade between the two countries came before diplomacy and that Americans were already demanding a level playing field back then.

In concrete terms, he anchored the relationship in the personal bond between Trump and Xi. Trump traveled to Beijing in May, Xi visited Washington in September, next week they will meet in Shenzhen and there will be a fourth meeting in Miami. According to Bessent, never before had two leaders of the two countries met so many times in a single year.

Two new bodies have emerged from those summits. The Board of Trade has agreed to seek more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion in non-sensitive goods in each direction and has created an agricultural working group. China has also committed to importing at least 25 million tonnes of US soybeans and 10 million tonnes of US coal over two years. The Board of Investment will serve as a forum for market access for US companies and to provide predictability for Chinese ones.

The economic diagnosis is one of rebalancing. The United States must produce more and China must consume more.

The technology component is the one with the most potential. Citing Henry Kissinger’s concern about superintelligence, Bessent confirmed a bilateral dialogue on artificial intelligence with three components: an exchange of best practices for evaluating advanced models before launching them, a guarantee that human judgment remains at the center, and a direct channel to alert each other to serious incidents involving their models.