China, Hong Kong stocks edge up ahead of Xi-Trump summit; AI shares rise

SHANGHAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks eked out gains on Tuesday, as investors assessed their positions ahead of a meeting of the presidents of US and China this week, while AI shares rose after officials of the two countries agreed to hold talks on AI safety.

** The benchmark Shanghai composite index .SSEC and the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 closed up 0.1%.

** The startup board ChiNext Composite index .CNT ended largely flat and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index .STAR50 rose 0.5%.

** An AI sub-index .CSI930713 advanced 1.6%.

** Senior US and Chinese officials will meet again in about two months in Shenzhen, China, to discuss AI dangers and communications protocols in the event of AI safety incidents, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday.

** Bessent also offered positive comments about the US-China trade relations, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of President Donald Trump.

** "Our expectations for this state visit are limited, with our focus more on the optics and symbolism of the trip rather than actual outcomes," said William Bratton, head of cash equity research for APAC at BNP Paribas.

** "In addition to the extension of the Busan truce, we expect any new announcements to be focused on the setting of guardrails and frameworks to manage and entrench the status quo of 'constructive strategic stability' that both countries committed to post Trump's May visit to China."

** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index .HSI climbed 0.2%, while the city's tech shares .HSTECH rose 0.3%.

** Hong Kong shares of Alibaba Group 9988.HK hit a one-month high at one point after CEO Eddie Wu said on Tuesday that the firm aims for its cloud global data centre capacity to surpass 20 GW by 2032.

** Tencent Holdings 0700.HK jumped after it released a preview of its latest AI image-generation model.