TREE NEWS update: China’s Foreign Ministry declined to confirm whether Beijing agreed to a formal US-China AI safety communication mechanism, including an emergency hotline for AI safety incidents. At a September 24 press briefing, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the two sides had already released information on trade talks and referred specific questions to the competent authorities. US Treasury Secretary Bessent had said the mechanism was agreed during talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng.
China’s Foreign Ministry Defers on Reported US AI Safety Hotline Agreement
The gap between Washington's characterization of an agreed mechanism and Beijing's refusal to confirm it is the story here. An AI safety hotline only matters if both sides acknowledge it exists, since its value rests on being usable in a crisis. The deferral to "competent authorities" keeps the arrangement ambiguous rather than denied. Whether Beijing eventually confirms the mechanism, and at what level, is the open question.
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