US Treasury's Bessent, China's He to launch talks on AI, trade, critical minerals

Key Points:

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet ahead of a high-stakes summit between Presidents Trump and Xi to discuss AI, tariffs, and critical minerals, aiming to sustain a US-China trade truce expiring November 10.
• Key issues include insufficient flows of Chinese rare-earth magnets and critical minerals to the US, potential AI guardrails, and ongoing tariff negotiations, with expectations of incremental progress rather than a breakthrough.
• The talks follow previous diplomatic efforts to manage tariffs and trade tensions, including a 2025 truce capping tariffs and Chinese commitments to increase US agricultural purchases and Boeing aircraft sales.
• Discussions on AI focus on avoiding risks and bifurcation of AI systems, with the US seeking agreements on guardrails to prevent misuse of powerful AI models, while Chinese open-weight AI models gain popularity in the US market.
• Economic talks will also cover investment issues, with the US considering allowing pharmaceutical investments in China, and China sending a business delegation to the US, coinciding with Trump’s openness to Chinese automakers building factories in the US despite national security concerns.