CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Trump and Xi face a test over AI control

Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses. Students and businesses alike are embracing AI in China, while the U.S. worries more about the negative impact. Will that encourage cooperation on AI safety when U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet? The big story A robotic voice warned me (and others) at a Hangzhou street intersection that a scooter driver didn't have a helmet on — even though I saw the rider wearing one. Regardless, the city and others are ploughing ahead in testing robot police officers . The national cybersecurity regulator on Friday published guidelines for ensuring safe use of agentic AI. It's a reminder that in the U.S.-China tech race, Beijing has underscored AI control from the start; the U.S. seems only now to be taking it seriously. As comparisons to the Cold War nuclear threat grow, hopes are rising that Trump and Xi will talk about AI cooperation in Beijing this week. Given concerns about the latest AI models, "we are willing ... [to explore] channels of deconfliction," senior U.S. officials told reporters in a briefing ahead of the planned summit . The stakes are rising sharply. …