The rogue-agent stories of the past two months have arrived somewhere nobody planned for. They are on the agenda for a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
The United States will raise AI safety with China when Xi visits the White House on 24 September. Nikkei Asia reported that on Sunday, citing people familiar with the preparations. Top of the American list is how to curb AI-directed cyberattacks. Beijing wants to use the same meeting to reopen the export controls that cut off its access to high-end chips. TNW has not independently verified either account.
Something separate may come first. Reuters reported on 4 September that the two countries are preparing a dedicated AI safety dialogue for the middle of this month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would lead it on the American side. That would make it the first official bilateral talks devoted entirely to AI since Trump returned to office. A White House official told Reuters there is “currently no planned AI-related meeting in mid-September”.
Both accounts rest on anonymous sources. Neither agenda is final. What is clear is the subject.
What Washington wants to talk about
