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A structured U.S.-PRC government dialogue on strategic artificial intelligence risk reduction - The US and China should be talking about AI safety and governance, and while I am skeptical this can happen given the politics I thought it is still constructive to make some suggestions. I created this proposal with Astra after much back and forth. If the two sides are going to dialogue about AI, the AI should have a say
Today has been a whirlwind of news about calls to pace AI development, triggered by Anthropic CEO’s “We Must Pace the Frontier” essay over the weekend. The reaction from the Trump Administration, and President Trump himself, make it clear the US government has no interest in slowing AI development, so the low expectations for any progress at the mooted US-China AI dialogue should now be even lower
Anthropic’s September report is not just about China but includes multiple examples of what it says is problematic behavior by Chinese firms and individuals. The report documents clear violations of PRC law by PRC entities. Anthropic should offer to forward its detailed findings to the Ministry of Public Security through the FBI’s channel, would be a good example of US-China law enforcement cooperation: these findings raise concerns about the misuse of user data by PRC AI labs. DeepSeek, Xi
Expectations should be low for US-China AI discussions around Xi’s upcoming visit, not only because of this advisory and the response but also because the US side is far from having any sort of coherent approach to regulation, or even empowered staff to figure out what to do. Politico just reported that Sam Corcos, CIO at the Treasury Department and Secretary Bessent’s top AI advisor, has been “reassigned.. away from AI policy after the adviser relayed private misgivings over White House policy
The PRC has still not confirmed that Xi Jinping will travel to India for the BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi this weekend, but the expectation is that he will attend. In this issue: August trade data Capital boost for state financial firms Preparations for Xi’s DC visit AI on the the Trump-Xi agenda China and Rubio’s South America visit
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PRC explanation of why there was no G20 communiqué NDRC wants to accelerate “Six Networks” projects EU-China Q2 carbon emissions fall China and AI The Memory Museum
In this issue: Xi’s Egypt visit G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting Bond issuance for rest of the year EU-China trade
In this issue: Xi at the SCO China’s global strategy Li Qiang meets US business delegation Tax changes for foreigners Auto industry overseas conduct guidelines Latest issue of Qiushi
In this issue: The disaster in Nepal and Tibet Xi at the SCO State Council Executive meeting Measures to expand and upgrade consumer goods consumption Revised National Defense Mobilization Law Signals for PRC-US AI dialogue Cracking down excessive competition in the domestic auto market New era for real estate
This month’s digest pulls in different directions—insofar as we can follow a single thread, it is that of traditional systems being swept away and of “changes unseen in a century” coming to pass: in discussions of nuclear proliferation, the Cold War nuclear order has “irreversibly come to an end”; in the Middle East, the US security architecture is crumbling; in the maritime domain, volatility threatens sea lanes; and overseas, Chinese firms’ modus operandi is shifting. While most scholars iden
Listen now | Show Notes:
Xi to attend SCO Summit and visit Egypt - Xi will travel to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to attend the SCO summit and pay a state visit there. He will then go on to Egypt for a state visit. He leaves August 30 and returns September 3. Xi’s most-watched meetings at the event may be with India’s Modi and Russia’s Putin. We still do not know why the director of the CIA flew to Russia yesterday for two hours, but it may have been to warn Putin about escalating in Ukraine and perhaps against NATO. If Xi and P
PRC response to “Economic D-Day” - The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday: China’s cooperation with Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or undermined. China is closely following relevant developments and will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its rights and interests. The US government may have set another trap for itself around the Iran quagmire. If they only sanction mostly meaningless PRC enti
In this issue: Xi meets Jordan’s king Sixth Plenum of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection “Zhong Caiwen 钟才文” on the economy Fiscal revenue grew in July Formaldehyde-dipped cabbage US-China
