US and China to launch AI dialogue ‘in the coming weeks’
Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping has agreed to launch a dialogue “on the risk and safety concerns” associated with artificial intelligence following a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“We agreed to hold the first U.S.-PRC talks on artificial intelligence to be held in the coming weeks,” Blinken told reporters in Beijing. “We’ll share our respective views on the risks and safety concerns around advanced AI and how best to manage them.”
That announcement marked a rare sign of potential cooperation, however limited, between the United States and China with respect to the emerging technologies, one of the most contested areas of the U.S.-China relationship. U.S. officials have identified technology as “the high ground where the battle for supremacy will be fought” this century, Chinese officials have struck an ominous tone in response to American efforts to limit the communist regime’s access to sensitive Western technology.
“The U.S. has employed all kinds of measures to hit China on trade, economy and technology,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin said Friday. “It is not de-risking but risk-building. The U.S. said it does not seek to contain China’s economy, decouple or bar China’s progress in science and technology. It should honor those words.”
Blinken brushed off that criticism, in a separate media appearance, as an overstatement. “Look, the vast, vast majority of chips, legacy chips and others, are still available. I saw that Huawei just put out a new laptop that it boasted was AI capable, that uses an Intel chip,” he told NPR. “I think it demonstrates that what we’re focused on is only the most sensitive technology that could pose a threat to our security. … It’s actually in our interest for China to have a growing and strong economy, but we also want to make sure that on the economic side of the ledger, there’s a level playing field for our companies and our workers.”
His visit to China was touted as an opportunity to make progress on the priorities set by Xi and President Joe Biden during their November meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Forum.
“The two countries should be partners, not rivals,” Xi told Blinken. “They should seek common ground while reserving differences instead of vicious competition; they should be true to their words and be resolute in deeds, rather than saying one thing and doing another.”
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In parallel, China’s defense minister met with officials from Russia and Iran on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Kazakhstan.
“In a volatile international environment, it is particularly important that the relations between our armed forces maintain a high dynamic and respond to the trends of the times,” Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun told his Russian counterpart. “Our interaction is important for strategic stability on the planet.”