China and the United States have agreed to establish a channel for handling artificial intelligence-related incidents and to accelerate military crisis communications after a three-day summit in Washington between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The arrangements were announced in statements issued by both governments on Saturday, with the two sides also agreeing to deepen working-level contact on trade and other areas of potential friction.
Under the plan, officials will create a mechanism to discuss the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence-related incidents. A dedicated AI dialogue is due to take place in November.
China’s Foreign Ministry said the countries would sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening crisis communications and preventing crises between their militaries. Its one-page statement gave few further details.
The summit produced no major breakthrough on the fundamental differences between the two powers. However, analysts said the new working groups and communication channels could help prevent disputes from escalating.
“Personal diplomacy between the two leaders is important, but the emphasis on working-level engagement, military-to-military dialogue and crisis-management mechanisms suggests an effort to make that stability more durable and institutionalized,” said Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization.
The White House said a Board of Trade on selected bilateral issues had gone into operation during the week. The two governments also agreed to continue work on a pledge to reduce reciprocal tariffs on goods worth roughly 30 billion dollars.
Most of the tariff reductions apply to non-sensitive products, including agricultural goods and holiday decorations. The leaders also agreed to extend a trade truce by two months, while China committed to importing at least 10 million metric tonnes of US coal in 2027 and 2028.
Washington said discussions were continuing over its concerns about supplies of rare earths, with the aim of returning shipments to “appropriate levels”. China imposed export controls on rare earths last year in response to US tariffs, reducing supplies sent to the United States and other countries.
The White House also welcomed China’s decision to introduce export controls on two additional precursor chemicals used in fentanyl. Both sides said law enforcement agencies had recently made arrests in fentanyl-related cases.
Xi returned to Beijing on Saturday, according to Xinhua. The two leaders are due to meet again at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November, followed later by a G20 meeting at Trump National Doral Miami in Florida.
The governments also said Iran should honour its stated commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country should impose a toll on international waterways, in an apparent reference to the Strait of Hormuz.
