DOMINANT ANGLE
Singapore is eyeing the new IA channel opened between Washington and Beijing, seeing it more as a cautious and distant management of technological rivalry than a diplomatic breakthrough.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Washington and Beijing are reducing tariffs on $30 billion worth of "non-sensitive" goods in each direction, including agricultural products and lumber from the US side, and small appliances and toys from the Chinese side
- 02
The two countries are setting up a "bilateral communication channel" for AI-related incidents, confirmed by Chinese state media on September 26
- 03
China has committed to importing at least 10 million tonnes of US coal in 2027 and 2028, according to the Straits Times
ANALYSIS
Singapour, 27 September 2026. In the aftermath of Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington, which ended on Friday, 25 September, the Singaporean press first noted the technological gesture of the summit: the opening of a "bilateral communication channel" for incidents related to artificial intelligence, confirmed on Saturday, 26 September, by Chinese state media. For Channel News Asia, the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping "showcased personal diplomacy rather than big public breakthroughs", the agreement on AI being the most concrete part of the summit.
Straits Times emphasized that the two leaders discussed topics "ranging from AI and trade to the stalled war in Iran" and confirmed two new meetings in 2026, in China and then in the United States. The newspaper noted a contrast in tone: Trump "repeatedly dismissed fears that AI could pose a threat to humanity", while Xi "took a more measured tone, noting the technology must develop under human control".
The change in vocabulary is particularly noteworthy: Washington has renamed artificial intelligence "super intelligence", a term that Beijing says it "respects". The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Saturday that it "attaches importance" to this choice, without confirming or denying that Xi Jinping would have, according to Trump, appreciated the formula.
On the commercial front, the Singaporean press reported the reduction in customs duties on $30 billion worth of "non-sensitive" goods in both directions, the creation of a trade council, and the extension of the two-month truce, mentioned on Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Straits Times added a detail that remained in the background of official announcements: China has committed to importing at least 10 million tonnes of American coal in 2027 and 2028, and two pandas are to join an American zoo.
For Singapour, a small open economy caught between the two powers, this summit confirms that technological rivalry remains managed from a distance, through dialogue channels rather than in-depth cooperation: Trump repeated on Saturday that Washington would not slow down AI and preferred not to cooperate with Beijing on this technology, having, in his opinion, "a lot of advance".
