The Pulse

U.S. and China Agree to a Channel for AI Incidents

The White House says the U.S. and China agreed to a bilateral channel for “SI incidents”; China’s foreign ministry confirmed it a day later as a channel for “AI incidents.” Both set a November 2026 exchange for a new dialogue on the technol

AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked · 2026-09-26

The United States and China have agreed to set up a bilateral communication channel for incidents involving advanced AI, and both governments now say so in writing. The White House announced the channel on Friday in a fact sheet on President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington. On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed the same commitment among eight “deliverables and understandings” from the visit, using its own name for the technology.

Washington announces a channel for “SI incidents”

The White House fact sheet, dated September 25, records that President Donald Trump and Xi settled on a name: “The two leaders agreed to use the term ‘super intelligence’ rather than ‘artificial intelligence’ to describe the applicable emerging technologies.” It then says the two countries established the U.S.-China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue to exchange views on the risks and benefits of SI, and adds: “The United States and China also agreed to establish a bilateral communication channel for SI incidents.”

The fact sheet sets one date. The next exchange of the dialogue, it says, “will occur by November 2026.”

Beijing confirms it, and calls it AI

China’s account, published a day later on the foreign ministry’s website and reposted by its missions abroad, including the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, confirms the commitment in almost the same words. The ministry said, in the seventh of the eight points:

“China and the U.S. also agree to establish a bilateral communication channel for AI incidents.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, “China and the United States Reach Eight Deliverables and Understandings”

The same point names the forum the China-U.S. AI Dialogue, “to exchange views on risks and benefits related to AI,” and says the next exchange “will occur in November 2026.” Where the White House writes “super intelligence” and “SI,” the Chinese text writes “AI” throughout, although the U.S. document presents the new term as something both leaders agreed to use. The two texts also differ slightly on timing: the White House says the next exchange will come by November, China says in November.

The Chinese statement dates the visit from September 23 to 25. Xinhua’s report of the leaders’ talks at the White House, datelined September 24, said Xi told Trump the two sides can continue to engage in dialogue on AI, exchange views on its risks and benefits, and work together to prevent the misuse and abuse of AI. That report did not mention a channel.

A separate line for the militaries

China’s statement also records a second communications commitment, outside the eight numbered points: the two militaries “agree to conclude a memorandum of understanding on crisis communication and prevention as soon as possible.” The statement lists it separately from the AI channel and does not link the two.

What neither text defines

Neither text says what counts as an incident, which agencies or officials will staff the channel, how quickly a notification must be answered, or when the channel will start working. The White House does not define “super intelligence,” and the Chinese statement does not address the term at all.

The next fixed point is the dialogue’s November 2026 exchange, the only date either government has attached to the new AI arrangements.