Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Meets Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York City on Sunday to discuss the bilateral economic and trade relationship. According to reports from CBS News, the high-level discussions served to lay the groundwork for an upcoming summit between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington later in the week.

The talks took place at JPMorgan Chase's headquarters in Manhattan. Joining Treasury Secretary Bessent at the meeting was U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Vice Premier He oversees the Chinese economy, and the Sunday meeting was designed to set the table for the two presidents' highly anticipated face-to-face engagement.

Writing in a post on X, Bessent noted that the discussions help lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance American economic interests. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated ahead of the meeting that the United States and China are deepening their engagement to facilitate mutually beneficial trade between the world's two largest economies.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, Bessent informed reporters that the conversation regarding trade and artificial intelligence was very successful. The two sides reportedly agreed to meet again for further dialogue focused specifically on AI.

Among the key developments from the AI discussions, Bessent stated that the officials talked about a proposed "notification mechanism" between the U.S. and China covering national security-related AI incidents. He framed this prospective measure as a transition from opaque practices to greater transparency between the world's leading artificial intelligence powers.

Discussions also touched upon tariffs and trade mechanisms. Bessent explained that the U.S. and China are working through a newly operationalized "board of trade" to identify non-sensitive goods that could be traded in a balanced way. This potential category includes consumer and low-tech items, energy products, agricultural goods, and potentially medical devices.

Greer added that the administration will continue pursuing balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American manufacturers, workers, and farmers. Bessent and Greer emphasized that a primary objective of the meeting was to help President Trump and President Xi continue their relationship.

The broader bilateral summit is scheduled for Thursday, when President Trump is set to welcome President Xi to the White House for a formal summit and state dinner. This event marks the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders this year, following their previous encounter in Beijing in May. President Xi's upcoming visit will be his first trip to the White House since 2015.

Several critical issues loom large over the upcoming presidential talks. In addition to artificial intelligence safeguards—which some industry leaders called for earlier this month—the leaders are expected to address an expiring trade agreement between the two countries and discussions regarding critical minerals.

Public and congressional attention has also focused on the AI components of the bilateral agenda. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California stated on Sunday during an appearance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that an agreement on artificial intelligence needs to be the primary agenda item at the Trump-Xi summit to establish basic international standards.

Representative Khanna argued that such standards should incorporate international monitoring, data center checks to distinguish between model inference and training, and enforceable, verifiable tools. As preparations conclude, the groundwork laid by Bessent and He Lifeng will shape the scope of negotiations when President Trump and President Xi convene in Washington.