Bessent, He Lifeng Set Sunday Talks on AI, Tariffs and Critical Minerals Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

According to CNBC, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to meet Sunday at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters to discuss potential agreements on AI, tariffs and critical minerals before a Washington summit this week between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is also expected to attend, and the talks are scheduled to begin at about 10:30 a.m. and run all day.

The discussions are expected to cover the U.S.-China trade truce set to expire on November 10, Chinese shipments of rare-earth magnets and critical minerals, and possible guard rails for artificial intelligence after reports of security breaches involving AI models. Bessent said Friday that the talks would include both open- and closed-weight models, and he said the United States remains the leader in AI while being open to discussions on avoiding shared risks and a split between the two systems.

Analysts said the most likely outcome is small steps from Washington and Beijing to show they are still avoiding a further escalation in tensions. Anna Ashton, founder of Ashton Intelligence, said she expects some deliverables because of the summit but does not see a breakthrough, adding that status quo is likely the best expectation for both sides.

The talks also come as the two countries continue to work through issues from Trump and Xi's meeting in Beijing in May, including efforts to cut tariffs on non-strategic goods and Chinese pledges to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods by $17 billion a year and buy more than 200 Boeing aircraft. China had also promised under the truce to restore the flow of critical minerals to U.S. and global users, though a senior U.S. official said Friday that China's performance on that front has not been up to par.