U.S. Treasury's Bessent plans to discuss AI and rare earths with China's He: report

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to ‌discuss AI, trade, rare earths and economic ​issues when he meets ⁠with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York City this weekend, according to a ‌source familiar with his plans.

The discussions are significant because the U.S. and ‌China are the two major forces ‌driving ⁠development of advanced AI tools and ⁠the global adoption of the technology. Rare earths play a crucial role in the manufacturing of technology.

Mr. Bessent ​and Mr. He ‌will meet ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24 in Washington.

Mr. Bessent said in a statement that he expects the discussions to ⁠cover “both open- and closed-weight models.” Open-weight models are AI systems with publicly accessible core ‌elements. Users can download and fine-tune them for specific tasks.