US President Joe Biden meets with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Lima, Peru, November 16, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

During a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Lima, Peru, the two leaders stressed the importance to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.

It was not clear whether the statement would lead to further talks or action on the issue. But it marks a first-of-its-kind step between the US and China in the discussion of two issues on which progress has been elusive: nuclear arms and AI.

China and the US launched their first formal bilateral talks on AI in May in Geneva, but those talks are not believed to have touched on nuclear weapons decision-making.

The US defense department estimated last year that China  has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably field more than 1,000 by 2030.

That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the US and Russia, respectively.