{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-stresses-importance-of-uschina-engagement-on-ais-shared-risks", "King Stresses Importance of U.S.\u2013China Engagement on AI\u2019s \u201cShared Risks\u201d", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Ahead of the White House\u2019s historic State Visit with President Xi Jinping of the People\u2019s Republic of China, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is underlining the crucial importance of productive engagement by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with the Chinese Government on the \u201cshared risks\u201d posed by artificial intelligence (AI). In a letter to Bessent, King acknowledges Bessent\u2019s recent public comments on his willingness to discuss critical AI risks with China and states that while the White House should continue to promote American leadership in the artificial intelligence space, continued conversations and dialogue with the Chinese government are critical to AI safety strategy in defense of all humankind.\n\nSenator King wrote, \u201cAs you are aware, the American people are increasingly concerned that rapid AI development poses risks that simply cannot be ignored. When an Anthropic employee responsible for ensuring that its models work as intended recently wrote that \u201c[w]e really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,\u201d many Americans for the first time reckoned with the potentially catastrophic implications of uncontrolled AI development. While thoughtful domestic regulation of the frontier AI labs that are developing the most advanced models is one important aspect of ensuring the safety of the American people, earnest and sustained dialogue with the Chinese government is another critical element of any serious and durable AI safety strategy.\u201d\n\n\u201cChinese and American companies will continue to compete fiercely in the global market for AI products and services, and the U.S. government should continue to work closely with American AI companies to prevent the theft of intellectual property and ensure American leadership in this space,\u201d Senator King continued. \u201cBut we also cannot lock ourselves into a race to the bottom with China on AI safety given the stakes.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccording to an expert on China\u2019s AI policy, the Cyberspace Administration of China has within the last year published an updated \u201cAI Safety & Governance Framework\u201d and created an \u201cAI Safety/Security Working Group\u201d called Working Group 9 to develop policies on frontier AI risks. To ensure that AI will be developed in a safe and sane manner, we should and must work with the Chinese government to create opportunities for American technical experts to exchange proposals with their Chinese counterparts,\u201d Senator King concluded.\n\nAs former Co-Chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) and current member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSCI), Senator King is recognized as one of Congress\u2019 leading experts on cyber defense, cyber safety, and as a strong advocate for a forward-thinking cyber strategy. Since it officially launched in April 2019, dozens of CSC recommendations have been enacted into law, including the creation of a National Cyber Director.\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found here and below.\n\n+++\n\nDear Secretary Bessent:\n\nAhead of your meetings this weekend with a delegation from the People\u2019s Republic of China led by Vice Premier He and President Trump\u2019s meetings with President Xi next week, I write to express my appreciation for your stated willingness to engage with the Chinese government on the \u201cshared risks\u201d posed by Artificial Intelligence (\u201cAI\u201d) to both of our nations.\n\nAs you are aware, the American people are increasingly concerned that rapid AI development poses risks that simply cannot be ignored. When an Anthropic employee responsible for ensuring that its models work as intended recently wrote that \u201c[w]e really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,\u201d many Americans for the first time reckoned with the potentially catastrophic implications of uncontrolled AI development. While thoughtful domestic regulation of the frontier AI labs that are developing the most advanced models is one important aspect of ensuring the safety of the American people, earnest and sustained dialogue with the Chinese government is another critical element of any serious and durable AI safety strategy.\n\nChinese and American companies will continue to compete fiercely in the global market for AI products and services, and the U.S. government should continue to work closely with American AI companies to prevent the theft of intellectual property and ensure American leadership in this space. But we also cannot lock ourselves into a race to the bottom with China on AI safety given the stakes. And there is good reason to expect that the Chinese government is thinking seriously about these issues. According to an American expert on China\u2019s AI policy, the Cyberspace Administration of China has within the last year published an updated \u201cAI Safety & Governance Framework\u201d and created an \u201cAI Safety/Security Working Group\u201d called Working Group 9 to develop policies on frontier AI risks.[1] To ensure that AI will be developed in a safe and sane manner, we should and must work with the Chinese government to create opportunities for American AI safety technical experts to exchange proposals with their Chinese counterparts.\n\nThank you again for your work to engage productively with the Chinese government on AI safety. I would appreciate staying in touch with you on these issues as Congress continues to debate how to appropriately respond to calls for federal regulation of frontier AI companies.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-stresses-importance-of-uschina-engagement-on-ais-shared-risks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4535007067024708, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}