The United States and China will set up a “communication channel” for artificial intelligence incidents, the White House said on Friday (September 25, 2026).

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping concluded a summit on Friday, with their talks focused on issues including the rising challenges posed by AI.

The two countries established a “U.S.-China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue to exchange views on risks and benefits” of AI, the White House said in a fact sheet, noting that their leaders had agreed to use the term SI rather than AI.

The next exchange is set to occur by November, it added.

The U.S. and China also agreed to establish a “bilateral communication channel” for incidents, the White House said.

Before the summit, Mr. Trump said “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is.”

“That is China’s position also,” he added on social media.

Mr. Xi took a more measured tone, calling for the U.S. and China to manage their superpower rivalry and keep AI under human control.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control,” he said at the White House on Thursday.

China and the U.S. have reached consensus on multiple economic and trade issues during their latest round of consultations in New York, where the two sides also held their first dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI), the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

He Yadong, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman, told the media in Beijing that the two countries’ economic and trade teams recently held their eighth round of consultations in New York, reaching consensus on several issues.

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and American Trade Representative Jamieson Greer participated in the talks in New York on Sunday (September 20, 2026) ahead of President Xi Jinping’s arrival in the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump accorded a rare airport reception to President Xi by personally receiving the Chinese leader when he arrived at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

Mr. He Yadong said that at the New York talks, the two sides held candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, reaching consensus on multiple issues including reciprocal tariff reductions, establishing trade and investment councils, and extending the joint arrangements reached at the Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultation, state-run China Daily reported.

China will maintain close communication with the U.S. side on follow-up work under the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism, the spokesperson said.

Top U.S. and Chinese negotiators will hold final preparatory talks in Washington from Saturday (September 19, 2026), including on tariffs, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the United States for a summit with his counterpart Donald Trump, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead a delegation to Washington from September 19 to 23, where the two sides will discuss economic and trade issues of mutual concern, guided by the consensus reached by Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump, the Ministry said.

The talks come ahead of Mr. Xi’s expected visit to Washington next week. Although Beijing is yet to officially announce the trip, U.S. media reports have said that Mr. Xi is expected to arrive on September 23 and meet Mr. Trump the following day.

Mr. Trump plans to accord a rare airport reception to Mr. Xi by personally receiving him on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews when the Chinese President arrives, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported earlier.

The two leaders last met in Beijing in May during Mr. Trump’s visit, when they held talks aimed at improving ties between the world’s two largest economies.

Vice Premier He is set to hold talks with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on a wide range of issues, including tariffs and artificial intelligence.

Mr. Bessent confirmed the talks, saying he looked forward to meeting Vice Premier He and continuing their “very good private discussions”.

The talks assume significance in the immediate backdrop of Mr. Trump signing a new sanctions bill to impose 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India.

Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on Friday (September 18, 2026). The law authorises expanded sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia and countries that buy its energy exports.

China has rejected U.S. attempts to impose tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil and gas, saying normal trade cooperation between countries should not be subject to interference by third parties.

“China engages in normal economic and trade cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday (September 17, 2026).

“Such cooperation does not target any third party and shall be free from disruption or coercion from any third party. China opposes long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and lack UN Security Council mandate,” he said.

Despite the tariff threat, Washington and Beijing are also negotiating a reciprocal tariff reduction framework covering products worth $30 billion from each side, China’s Commerce Ministry said.

The consultations aim to reach a reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement at the earliest possible date, ministry spokesperson Huang Ling said.

Ahead of the summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also held a telephone conversation on Thursday focusing on high-level exchanges between the two countries.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) and held talks with Mr. Wang, during which he said Tehran was not interested in continuing its conflict with the U.S. and wanted to return to a diplomatic solution.

Taiwan said on Saturday (May 16, 2026) it is an “independent” nation, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump warned the democratic island against declaring formal independence.

Mr. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday (May 15, 2026) where Chinese President Xi Jinping had pressed him not to support Taiwan, which China claims is part of its territory.

Taiwan depends heavily on U.S. security backing to deter China from carrying out its threat to annex the island by force.

Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China”, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry also insisted that U.S. arms sales were part of Washington’s security commitment to Taiwan, after Mr. Trump flagged that he was considering the issue.

Taiwan’s statements came after Mr. Trump issued a warning to the island against making a declaration of independence.

“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” he told Fox News‘ “Special Report with Bret Baier”.

“I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” Mr. Trump said.

“We’re not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China’s going to be OK with that.”

The United States recognises only Beijing and does not support formal independence by Taiwan, but historically has stopped short of explicitly saying it opposes independence.

Under U.S. law, the United States is required to provide weapons to Taiwan for its defence, but it has been ambiguous on whether U.S. forces would come to the island’s aid.

Mr. Xi had begun the summit with a warning on Taiwan, whose President Lai Ching-te considers the island already independent, making a declaration unnecessary.

The Chinese leader told Mr. Trump that missteps on the sensitive issue could cause “conflict”.

Taiwan’s Presidential Office noted on Saturday (May 16, 2026) the “multiple reaffirmations from the U.S. side, including President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that the consistent U.S. policy and position toward Taiwan remain unchanged”.

“Taiwan-U.S. cooperation has always been demonstrated through action,” spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement.

“Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with the US under the firm commitments of the Taiwan Relations Act.”

U.S. weapon sales

Ahead of the summit, Mr. Trump had said he would speak to Mr. Xi about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a departure from Washington’s previous insistence that it would not consult Beijing on the matter.

Taiwan’s Parliament recently approved a $25 billion defence spending bill that will be used for U.S. weapons.

Lawmakers have said the funds will cover nearly $9 billion of the $11.1 billion arms package announced by Washington in December and a second phase of arms sales — not yet approved by the United States — worth more than $15 billion.

Speaking to reporters on Friday (May 15, 2026) en route to Washington, Mr. Trump said on arms sales: “I’ll make a determination over the next fairly short period of time.”

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said arms were “not only a U.S. security commitment to Taiwan clearly stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats”.

China has sworn to take the island and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure in recent years.

China called on Friday (May 15, 2026) for a lasting truce in the West Asia and for shipping lanes to be reopened “as soon as possible”, as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed during the war with Iran.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since conflict broke out with the United States and Israel on February 28 and Washington has blockaded Tehran’s ports.

Iran’s grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant leverage.

U.S. President Donald Trump has discussed Iran during a summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

In an interview with Fox News after the first day of the summit wrapped, Mr. Trump said Mr. Xi had effectively assured him that China was not preparing to militarily aid Tehran.

“He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Mr. Trump told Fox.

“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,’” Mr. Trump added.

When asked if the two presidents had discussed the subject, China’s foreign ministry responded on Friday saying it hoped a lasting ceasefire could be reached “as soon as possible” to restore peace and stability in the West Asia.

“Shipping lanes should be reopened as soon as possible in response to the calls of the international community,” it added.

“There is no point in continuing this conflict which should not have happened in the first place.”

In peacetime, the Hormuz Strait accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday (May 14, 2026) that naval forces had allowed a number of Chinese ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the previous night.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “good” meeting in Beijing on Thursday (May 14, 2026), the White House said, in a readout that did not include any reference to Taiwan.

“President Trump had a good meeting with President Xi of China. The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation,” the White House said in a statement.

It made no mention of discussions on self-ruled Taiwan that Mr. Xi earlier said could cause a “conflict” between China and the United States should the issue be mishandled.

Taiwan says nothing surprising so far from Trump-Xi summit

So ‌far there ​is ⁠no surprising message from ‌the summit ‌between ‌the ⁠Chinese ⁠and U.S. leaders ​in Beijing, a ‌spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland ‌Affairs Council said.

They added that Taipei is in close ‌touch ​with Washington ⁠on the meeting.

With inputs from AFP, Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump commenced his highly anticipated three-day visit to China on May 13, amid the ongoing Israel-U.S. war with Iran, and a year after Mr. Trump imposed steep import tariffs on several countries. China was one of the countries on which the U.S. imposed the highest tariffs. 

Mr. Trump’s previous visit to Beijing was in November 2017 during his first term as U.S. President. Interestingly, it was a few months after his 2017 visit that he started a trade war with China by levying high import tariffs on various products to fight the latter’s “unfair trade practices” and address the huge trade imbalance between the two countries. China retaliated with its own tariffs.

President Donald Trump says that Chinese President Xi Jinping has given him assurances that Beijing would take no action toward its long-stated goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China while the Republican leader is in office.

Mr. Trump said that the long-contentious issue of Taiwan did not come up in his talks with Mr. Xi on Thursday in South Korea that largely focused on U.S.-China trade tensions. But the U.S. leader expressed certainty that China would not take action on Taiwan, while he’s in office.

“He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Mr. Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS’ programme “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday (November 2, 2025).

U.S. officials have long been concerned about the possibility of China using military force against Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed U.S. relations with the island, does not require the U.S. to step in militarily if China invades but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status by Beijing.

Asked if he would order U.S. forces to defend Taiwan if China attacked, Mr. Trump demurred. The United States, both Republican and Democratic administrations, have maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan — trying not to tip their hands on whether the U.S. would come to the island’s aid in such a scenario.

“You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Xi.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not provide further details about when Mr. Xi or Chinese officials have conveyed to Mr. Trump that military action on Taiwan was off-the-table for the duration of the Republican’s presidency.

The “60 Minutes” interview was taped on Friday at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It marked Mr. Trump’s first appearance on the show since he settled a lawsuit this summer with CBS News over the newsmagazine’s interview with Kamala Harris.

The rest of the interview is scheduled to air later on Sunday.