What is next for the US-China AI safety dialogue?

Monday, November 23, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EST 
Online only: https://www.brookings.edu/events/what-is-next-for-the-us-china-ai-safety-dialogue

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed during their September talks to set up a formal ⁠dialogue on AI, including an incident line for communications about AI safety incidents. Follow-up technical discussions are scheduled for November 2026, and will likely fall before the next meeting between Presidents Xi and Trump on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China. 

The AI dialogue could provide a forum for the exchange of views on the risks and benefits of cutting-edge AI models, alongside a direct communication channel for critical AI incidents. The notification mechanism may address the need for a system to alert each government about severe technical anomalies, runaway models, rogue agents, or major model failures that could trigger a national security crisis. U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment appear to remain off the table during these safety talks.

On November 23, the Center for Technology Innovation and John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings will host a webinar to discuss how China and the United States are moving forward with the formal bilateral China-U.S. AI Dialogue and emergency incident communication channel.

Viewers can submit questions via email to events@brookings.edu.