U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent waits for the first meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-fraud task force convened by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2026. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters The U.S. can talk to China about AI because "we are in the lead," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC, as the countries unveiled a protocol on best practices for the rapidly improving technology. "The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking. We're gonna set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don't get a hold of these models," Bessent told Joe Kernen on Thursday, on the sidelines of President Donald Trump 's two-day meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping . "The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead," he added.…