US and Chinese officials are discussing a system that would let the two governments notify each other about artificial intelligence incidents with national security implications, according to an account of preparations for a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised the proposal with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the planned state dinner, which executives from OpenAI and Nvidia are expected to attend.
The proposed mechanism would resemble a Cold War hotline, though its scope and operating rules remain unsettled. Administration officials cited in the account say an agreement could take several more weeks. They hope to establish a working framework before Bessent and He meet again in Shenzhen in two months, with a system potentially operating before the end of the year.
Key questions include which AI incidents would require notification and whether China will formally agree to participate. Officials have also considered enforcement provisions intended to ensure that alerts flow in both directions. The account says those discussions could be complicated by broader trade negotiations and Trump's position on exports of advanced Nvidia chips to China.
The administration has granted limited licenses for Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China, according to the account. Supporters of those sales argue that restrictions encourage Chinese chip development. The notification proposal comes amid wider concerns about the security implications of increasingly capable AI models and competition between the two countries.
The account also says a decision on who will coordinate AI policy across federal agencies could affect the timetable. Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House officials Michael Kratsios and Sean Cairncross have been discussed for a proposed “AI czar” role. It is unclear whether the eventual appointee would retain another government position or serve in the new role exclusively.