Bessent says U.S. leads, safety protocol planned
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Japan and South Korea on May 14 and 15, 2026, en route to the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing.
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The United States can talk to China about artificial intelligence because “we are leading the way,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC, as countries unveiled a protocol on best practices for the rapidly evolving technology.
“The two AI superpowers are going to start talking. We’re going to create a protocol on how we’re going to move forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t hijack these models,” Bessent told Joe Kernen on Thursday on the sidelines of President Donald Trump’s two-day meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
“The reason we can have healthy discussions with the Chinese about artificial intelligence is because we are leaders,” he added. “I don’t think we would be having the same discussions if they were that far ahead of us,” he said.
US-based Anthropic alarmed many people Washington and other countries with the Mythos AI model, which supposedly has powerful cyberattack capabilities. The company said it would initially release it to select partners.
BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 14: Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and U.S. President Donald Trump pose for a photo at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on May 14, 2026. Xi warned Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead the two countries into “conflict.” A fierce opening salvo came during a superpower summit in Beijing on May 14 that will address a host of thorny issues. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski) – Pool/Getty Images)
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Bessent told CNBC that he expects a big “step function leap” in upcoming major language model releases. GoogleGemini and OpenAI.
Washington has also sought to limit China’s artificial intelligence development by restricting the sale of advanced semiconductors, particularly Nvidia, to the country. Jensen Huang, the chipmaker’s CEO, joined Trump’s China delegation as a late addition.
Asked by Reuters about a report that Washington had approved the sale of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to several major Chinese tech firms, Bessent said there was “a lot of back and forth” on the issue.
Trump and Xi wrapped up the first major meeting of this week’s China trip at 12:00 local time on Thursday. In Beijing’s statement, it was stated that the Chinese leader emphasized that Taiwan was the most important issue in terms of bilateral relations and warned against handling the issue incorrectly.
Beijing claims Taiwan, a democratically self-governing island, as part of its territory.
Bessent also told CNBC that Trump would provide more information on the Taiwan issue “in the coming days.”
“Trump … understands the sensitivities around all of this, and anyone who says otherwise does not understand Donald Trump’s negotiating style,” he added.
Bessent’s week in Asia
Trump’s visit to China this week marks the first time a sitting US president has visited the country since 2017, when Trump visited during his first term. The summit started on Thursday morning and will end on Friday.
Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in South Korea on Wednesday ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
China’s Ministry of Commerce described the preliminary talks as an effort to resolve trade issues and make “further progress.” expand pragmatic cooperation,” according to CNBC’s Chinese translation.
In a short post on Thursday morning, Bessent shares: Photo of himself and He LifengHe said they discussed “economic and trade relations between our nations.”
