# US and China weigh AI 'red phone' as Trump dismisses safety fears

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/us-and-china-weigh-ai-red-phone-as-trump-dismisses-safety-fears
- Published: 2026-09-23T01:13:27.247238+00:00
- Topics: artificial-intelligence, us-china-relations, national-security, trump-xi-summit, ai-safety

## What the left says
- AI safety advocates argue that the ferocity of U.S.-China competition is exactly why guardrails like an incident hotline are urgently needed, not a reason to abandon them.
- Leading AI labs themselves are pushing for safety cooperation even as they race to outpace China, suggesting industry sees real risk that political rhetoric downplays.
- Dismissing catastrophic AI risk as a 'HOAX' undercuts serious technical concerns about cyberattacks, critical infrastructure disruption, and loss of control over powerful systems.
- History with U.S.-China crisis channels going dark during tense moments (Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the spy balloon incident) shows a hotline is only useful if both sides actually commit to using it.

## What the right says
- Winning the AI race against China is the paramount national security priority, and safety-focused slowdowns risk ceding critical technological and military advantage to Beijing.
- A narrow, practical notification mechanism for national-security-level AI incidents is a reasonable Cold War-style guardrail that doesn't require broader regulatory concessions or a pause in development.
- China is simultaneously racing to lead in AI while portraying U.S. chip controls and safety calls as attempts to hold it back, so any cooperation must be approached with clear-eyed skepticism about Beijing's intentions.
- The Trump administration's stance reflects confidence that maintaining an unhindered pace of American AI innovation is itself the best safeguard against falling behind a rival that prioritizes control over transparency.

## Common ground
- Both governments recognize that an AI-related incident with national security implications could escalate quickly if there's no communication channel in place.
- Both sides acknowledge that the U.S. and China are locked in intense competition to lead in AI development.
- Officials from both countries are engaging in direct talks this week, including a Bessent-He Lifeng meeting and the Trump-Xi summit, to address AI risks alongside trade issues.
- Existing U.S.-China crisis hotlines have a track record of going unused during past periods of tension, a shared concern for making any new mechanism actually effective.

## Sources
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/22/trump-china-ai-hotline-xi-summit) (Lean Left)
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/16/us-open-ai-shared-risks-china-bessent) (Lean Left)
- [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/select/shopping/best-wool-socks-rcna182020) (Lean Left)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6101437-bessent-proposes-ai-notification-system/) (Center)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/international/6101242-bessent-china-trade-board/) (Center)
- [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/09/21/us-proposes-ai-incident-alert-system-with-china/) (Lean Left)

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