US and China to create a "super intelligence" dialogue and an AI incident channel

The United States and China have agreed to set up a dialogue on artificial intelligence, with a communications channel to help defuse serious incidents, the White House said.

The White House released a fact sheet late Friday night with the outcomes of President Trump's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. According to the document, the two sides agreed to refer to AI as "super intelligence," or "SI," a term Trump introduced and prefers for the technology.

A U.S.-China Super Intelligence dialogue

The two countries will create a "U.S.-China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue" that will meet on "risks and benefits related to SI." The next meeting is to be held by November, the White House said.

A channel for SI incidents

The administration also said there would be a "bilateral communication channel for SI incidents." Some observers have likened the idea to the Cold War-era "red telephone" that connected Washington and Moscow.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent focused on creating that channel during last weekend's pre-summit meetings with Chinese officials. It is not clear, however, what kind of incidents would rise to the level of using the channel, or what kinds of notifications each side would give the other.

Why it matters

Trump has said that the main thing that matters in the AI race is beating China. The agreement nonetheless shows that the two countries are serious competition for each other, and that both sides acknowledge it.