CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina - Ministers from the Group of 20 countries ended a two-day meeting in North Carolina on Wednesday after adopting a statement cautioning against "inflexible" regulation on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
The event's host, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, told a news conference that the statement reflects the determination of the countries to advance investment and economic growth as well as tech innovation through their economies.
The meeting in Chapel Hill also drew tech leaders such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Among the government officials in attendance was Japanese trade and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa.
The ministers agreed on a set of principles that seek to "intentionally promote innovation and unlock the benefits of emerging technology," according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
The so-called Carolina Principles signal a preference toward using existing regulations for emerging technologies and limiting new ones to address only the "considerations" that the existing regulations cannot.
The principles also call for investment in foundational research and the accelerated commercialization of emerging technologies.
"Outdated or inflexible regulatory approaches can unintentionally restrict innovation," the statement said. "We aim to build our own sovereign policy frameworks" informed by the principles, it added.
The ministerial statement was adopted by consensus. At the G20 finance meeting that ended Tuesday, China had refused to accept a U.S.-drafted joint statement summarizing its outcome as it objected to parts of the communique language.
Akazawa told reporters after the meeting that he will hold talks with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during his visit to Washington on Thursday and Friday.
The talks will aim to "further deepen economic ties between Japan and the United States," he said.
