China, US to open AI ‘communication channel’ after summit, White House says

The United States and China have agreed to establish a “communication channel” for artificial intelligence (AI) incidents, the White House said after a summit in Washington, DC.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed matters ranging from AI and trade to the stalled war in Iran during a three-day state visit, and confirmed that they would meet for a third and fourth time this year at international summits in China and the US.

The White House said on Friday that the nations agreed to establish a “bilateral communication channel” for AI incidents. There was no immediate comment from Beijing on the White House statement.

The announcement came after a summit short on breakthroughs that was dominated by ceremony, according to Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from the White House.

“There was a lot of ceremony and a lot of pomp. In fact, there was a lot more pomp than progress,” Fisher said. The two sides agreed to extend a trade truce due to expire in November, pushing the deadline to January “to give both sides the chance to talk”.

Trump said the visit had strengthened his personal rapport with Xi, which he said would benefit the US in the long run.

“We’ve had a tremendous visit from two spectacular people, and we really enjoyed it, and I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” Trump said. “We’ve made great strides, very positive for both countries.”

Calling on both nations to pursue “a healthy competition” that acts as “a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses”, President Xi stated that as “leading nations in artificial intelligence”, the two powers share “the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good”.

Fisher reported that Xi used the summit to press specific aims, seeking assurance that China would be “treated more fairly” in future dealings and laying out guidelines he wants to shape upcoming talks between the two countries.

Xinhua reported Xi also urged Trump to “handle the Taiwan issue prudently” along with discussions on the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula.

On trade, the White House said China agreed to import at least 10 million metric tonnes of US coal in 2027-2028, with more favourable tariffs on $30bn of “non-sensitive goods” each way. Two pandas are also set to arrive at a US zoo.

The visit featured a state banquet, a military parade and a tour of the National Archives, where the leaders viewed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Trump noted the US “goes 250 years; theirs goes 6,000 years”.

The two leaders will meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 in Miami in December.

Fisher said the continuation of dialogue was “perhaps the biggest deliverable for both sides”.