Trump and Xi Discuss AI Guardrails During Beijing Summit
May 15, 2026 – 1:20 pm
Image by: United States Federal Government
Donald Trump revealed during a press conference on Air Force One that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed AI guardrails and Nvidia’s H200 chips during his two-day visit to Beijing. When asked about the specifics, Trump stated that they discussed "standard guardrails that we talk about all the time". He added that both leaders considered working together on these guardrails.
No Signed AI Governance Framework
Despite these discussions, the summit concluded without a signed AI governance framework. The most anticipated part of the deal, concerning H200 chip deliveries to ten approved Chinese buyers, remains stalled.
Cleared Buyers Await Chip Deliveries
Initially, Washington approved roughly ten Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, JD.com, and Lenovo, to purchase up to 75,000 H200 chips each under a new export licensing regime. However, not a single H200 has been shipped to these cleared buyers yet, and rare-earth exports from China remain approximately 50% below pre-restriction levels.
Unclear Guardrail Agreements
The term "standard guardrails" bears significant weight due to the lack of formal agreements between the US and Chinese governments regarding their scope. While the meeting addressed AI as an elephant in the room, a deeper bilateral framework on autonomous weapons, model misuse, and dual-use AI was discussed only briefly.
Elaborate Export Licensing Regime
The export licensing regime for H200 chips is particularly complex. It limits China-bound volumes to no more than 50% of Nvidia’s US domestic sales, requires verification by a US-headquartered third-party lab, mandates Chinese buyers’ certification against military use, and includes a 25% revenue share routed through the United States.
Political Debates and Concerns
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer expressed his concern, stating that "giving China access to this premier US technology is dangerous and threatens our lead in the AI race". Nvidia’s Jensen Huang publicly argued that maintaining export controls on H200 keeps revenue and jobs within the United States.
Persistent Rare-Earth Controls
China’s rare-earth controls, implemented last year as a response to earlier US tariffs, continue to disrupt Western magnet and motor supply chains, adding another layer of complexity to AI negotiations.