U.S.-China Expert Meeting on AI and Nuclear Energy

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) organised a track 2 U.S.-China Expert Meeting on AI and Nuclear Energy on 5 December 2025 in Vienna, Austria. The meeting was organised in collaboration with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation (VCDNP). The meeting was held at the VCDNP offices in Vienna. Nongovernment experts from China and the United States participated in sessions discussing possible ways for the two countries to collaborate on AI and nuclear energy. The meeting took place on the margins of the Symposium on AI and Nuclear Energy organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 3-4 December. The expert meeting was moderated by the GCSP.

In their general observations, the experts commented that China and the United States shared common responsibilities at a moment of synergistic AI and nuclear energy growth. Both countries would pursue dominance, but this should not be done at the expense of safety, security, and nonproliferation standards. There should be no race to the bottom. In the past, science and technology dipomacy between China and the US had benefitted both sides, as well as global security. However, the politics of mutual suspicion and economic competition was limiting cooperation. The use of AI technology to empower countries to operate nuclear power facilities more safely and securely could be an opportunity for the two countries to cooperate and show joint global leadership.