US and Chinese economic officials discussed creating a communication channel for AI concerns at meetings Sunday (Sep 20) as they set the stage for a summit of the countries' top leaders this week.

The talks come as both powers confront rising fears that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems could wipe out humanity, offering a rare incentive for cooperation despite an intensifying race for technological supremacy.

"We just had a very successful engagement with the Chinese on trade and AI," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after long talks with a team led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

The talks are a prelude to a planned White House meeting on Thursday of the leaders of the world's two biggest economies: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The discussions, which also included the top US trade official Jamieson Greer, lasted around eight hours at JPMorgan Chase's headquarters in New York.

Bessant said the two sides discussed setting up a way to communicate about AI issues called the "US-China AI dialogue".

"The US has proposed that we have a notification mechanism between the two countries," Bessent said.

Such notifications are for potential "incidents," or a situation "that rises up to a national security level from AI", he said, adding that both sides have agreed to meet again.

Bessent and He also spoke one-on-one during the day, a source familiar with the matter said.

Chinese state media described the meetings as "candid, in-depth, and constructive" on Monday.

"The two sides engaged in ... discussions on key economic and trade issues of mutual interest, such as implementing the consensus from previous consultations and promoting bilateral trade and investment," Xinhua news agency said in a brief readout.

Chinese and US officials also held a dialogue on "issues related to AI", Xinhua added, without giving any further details.

Chinese official Li Chenggang, who was elevated to a top-level international trade representative post shortly before the meetings, was present in the New York talks too. But the Chinese delegation did not address reporters.

Greer stressed Sunday it is "imperative that we are able to work together".

Both sides are looking to ease tensions on trade, technology and other strategic concerns. These include the possible extension of a trade truce and guardrails for AI development.