US and China establish AI safety channel amid global calls for cooperation

The United States and China have established a new AI safety channel, a limited initiative aimed at increasing transparency between the two leading AI powers. This development comes as global leaders, including Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have urged Beijing and Washington to collaborate on guidelines for the safe development of artificial intelligence.

While the channel is not a formal system for governments to jointly report or respond to AI threats, it represents an effort to move from opacity to greater transparency in the AI race. US official Bessent, who unveiled the proposal after talks with his Chinese counterpart He in New York, described it as an effort to foster a shared vision of common goals and threats.

These calls for cooperation occur against a backdrop of President Trump's stance on AI development. Trump has resisted slowing down AI progress, viewing it as a critical race that the US must win against China. He has expressed concerns that restrictions on American companies could benefit Beijing, stating, "We’re leading China in AI, we’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins."