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China and the US are set to hold the first meeting in their intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI). Chinese and US experts said it is a positive development that could lead to areas of agreement as there are numerous areas of common ground.

The comments came as AI researchers and industry professionals from China and abroad discussed the development and governance of AI at the General Artificial Intelligence sub-forum at the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) on Saturday.

China and the US announced that they would hold the first meeting of the China-US intergovernmental dialogue on AI. Both sides will further promote bilateral cooperation on AI, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry on Friday.

It's a positive development that China and the US are planning to hold a meeting on AI, Mark Nitzberg, executive director of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence (CHAI) at the University of California, Berkeley, told the Global Times on Saturday at the ZGC Forum.

There are numerous areas of common ground for discussion. In terms of AI safety, there are "red lines" that AI systems should not cross, Nitzberg said. For example, AI systems should not copy or improve themselves, or seek to increase their power.

Productive discussions can lead to areas of agreement. China and the US are already pursuing regulation of AI in their own respective ways, Nitzberg added, and in the context of the increasing capabilities of today's frontier models, it is important to have coordination in this regard.

One impressive aspect of China's AI governance is the rapid development of a comprehensive and robust framework, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, the founding executive director of Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), told the Global Times on Saturday at the ZGC Forum.

"I am impressed by the AI technological advancements unveiled at the ZGC Forum," Ó hÉigeartaigh said, adding that he is quite optimistic about the prospects for the Chinese AI industrial sector.

Communication between China and the US on AI governance is of great significance, as AI not only concerns the economic development of the two countries and the world, but is also related to national security, Cui Chuangang, a financial commentator focusing on the AI sector, told the Global Times.

Both sides are currently still in the early stages of communication on AI. Against the backdrop of the US' suppression of Chinese technology, the space for reaching consensus and cooperation between the two sides is not very large, Cui noted.

Global Times