Trump and Xi agree to set up AI safety channel as military and trade talks continue

September 26, 2026 / 3:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP

China and the United States agreed to establish a channel for handling AI-related incidents and accelerate work on military crisis communications following a three-day summit between President Xi Jinping and President Trump in Washington, the two governments said Saturday.

They also agreed to continue cooperating through a Board of Trade focused on selected bilateral issues. The White House said the board began operating this week.

The summit produced no major breakthroughs, but analysts said the steps toward greater cooperation were important because they established working groups that could help prevent disputes from escalating.

Xi returned to Beijing on Saturday, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. During the visit, Mr. Trump displayed unusual warmth toward Xi, despite having escalated a trade war with China the previous year that had global repercussions.

The two sides agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening crisis communications and preventing crises between the two militaries, China's Foreign Ministry said Saturday in its readout. The one-page statement from the Chinese side was light on details.

Both sides will set up a communication mechanism for artificial intelligence-related incidents, to discuss related risks and benefits, with an…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/