AI has become an important area of discussion between the two countries, alongside trade, technology and broader bilateral relations.

BEIJING: China has said it respects Washington’s decision to use the term “superintelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” in official communications, following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The issue of artificial intelligence was among the topics discussed during the summit between the two leaders in Washington this week.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would refer to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence”, or SI, in official communications.

Following his talks with Xi, Trump said on his social media platform that the Chinese president appeared to favour the change in terminology.

China has not directly confirmed or rejected Trump’s description of the discussion. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Beijing respected the terminology adopted by Washington.

“Regarding the artificial intelligence phrasing question, the Chinese side attaches importance to the US side’s position and respects the US side’s wording,” the ministry said in a statement.

An unidentified ministry spokesperson added that AI technologies were continuing to develop and that countries could strengthen exchanges, deepen discussions and seek greater consensus in response to changing circumstances.

US and China agree on AI communication channel

The two countries also agreed to establish a communication channel for incidents involving artificial intelligence, according to statements issued after the summit.

The mechanism is intended to facilitate communication between Washington and Beijing as both countries continue to develop and regulate increasingly advanced AI technologies.

AI has become an important area of discussion between the two countries, alongside trade, technology and broader bilateral relations.

Trump has previously dismissed concerns that AI could pose a major threat to humanity, while Xi has taken a more cautious position, stressing that the development of the technology should remain under human control.

The latest comments come as Washington and Beijing seek to maintain dialogue on emerging technologies while competing over technological development and standards.