NTI CEO Christine Wormuth on Opportunities to Strengthen Security Through Cooperation at the Trump-Xi Summit

President Trump and President Xi will meet in Beijing on May 14-15 against a backdrop of significant geopolitical turmoil and rapid technological change. In a relationship as complex and far-reaching as the United States and China’s, disagreement and competition are inevitable, but cooperation is essential to tackling the most pressing global security challenges.

NTI has prioritized engagement with China to prevent crises from becoming catastrophes.

Based on our work, I am convinced the Summit can produce outcomes that strengthen U.S. national security and reduce global nuclear and biological risks. The presidents have common interests and a real opportunity to advance these goals:

• Agree on steps the United States and China can take together to reduce shared biological risks from misuse of advanced bioscience and biotechnology.The United States and China lead the world in advanced, AI-enabled biological research and development. Both governments share an interest in preventing misuse of these powerful capabilities. The summit can advance joint biosecurity efforts by promoting mandatory nucleic acid synthesis and customer screening requirements, investment in and sharing of best practices for AIxBio risk evaluations and safeguard development, and construction of national and international frameworks to guard against the risks posed by mirror life.
• Direct their governments to launch a sustained bilateral dialogue to deepen mutual understanding of nuclear risks and improve predictability and transparency in the nuclear domain. China is rapidly—and opaquely—expanding its nuclear arsenal. With the expiration of the New START Treaty leaving the United States unconstrained for the first time in decades, Washington appears poised to increase its nuclear forces in response to actions taken by Russia and China. At the same time, emerging technologies like AI and new strategic domains such as outer space are reshaping the nuclear deterrence landscape. This complex mix—combined with intense competition—raises the risk of arms racing and catastrophic miscalculation. Sustained and deliberate engagement could reduce these risks.
• Agree on the need for all nuclear-armed states to conduct regular, independent nuclear “fail-safe” reviews to ensure their nuclear weapons are as safe as possible from mistaken or accidental use. In this climate of heightened tension and rapid technological development, the risk of an accident—and the potential for an accident to be catastrophic—increases. Fail-safe reviews, which the United States has already undertaken, can be done by each country independently and enhance the security of all countries. Accidental or mistaken use of a nuclear weapon anywhere would be devastating for people everywhere.
• Expand practical cooperation to prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism and strengthen the security of nuclear materials, facilities, and technologies. Both China and the United States share a clear interest in making sure that nuclear and radiological materials never fall into the hands of terrorists or other malicious actors. As China expands its civilian nuclear energy program and both countries confront emerging risks from AI, drones, and insiders, Washington and Beijing should engage in sustained nuclear security cooperation among top officials, technical experts, regulators, and laboratories. This cooperation should focus on mutually beneficial technical exchanges, joint exercises, and cooperative efforts to secure and minimize weapons-useable nuclear material.

President Trump has expressed a strong interest in managing nuclear and biological risks. In Beijing, he can start to realize these ambitions by building the foundation for long-term progress in U.S.-China relations.