U.S. President Barack Obama (5th L) meets with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (4th L) and State Councilor Yang Jiechi (2nd L), both special representatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Washington July 11, 2013. [Photo: Xinhua/Wang Lei]

 

　　The 5th China-U.S Strategic and Economic Dialogue has concluded in Washington.

 

　　Both Beijing and Washington hailed the two-day event a great success after reaching a number of significant breakthroughs.

 

　　Zhang Shuangfeng has more.

 

　　Upon conclusion of their two-day dialogue, China and the United States agreed to restart negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty.

 

　　US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew hailed it as a significant breakthrough.

 

　　"China announced its intention to negotiate a high-standard bilateral investment treaty with us that will include all stages of investment and all sectors, a significant breakthrough and the first time China has agreed to do so with another country."

 

　　China and the United States began treaty negotiations in 2008, under former president George W. Bush.

 

　　But those talks stalled the following year, as President Barack Obama took office.

 

　　To date, US investment in China stands at over 70-billion US dollars, while China's investment in the United States is around 20-billion US dollars.

 

　　Chinese officials estimate that China's investment in foreign countries will surpass foreign investment into China in three to five years.

 

　　Chinese investment has met some strong resistance in the United States despite the fact that it's largely welcomed by state and local governments.

 

　　The bilateral investment treaty could expand Chinese market access for American investors.

 

　　Meanwhile, the US has also pledged to treat Chinese investment equally and fairly.

 

　　In addition to the pledge to further open up market access to each another, the two countries also reached a great number of deals.

 

　　Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang says the outcomes are remarkable.

 

　　"Over the past two days, we have had candid and in-depth exchanges on the overarching long-term and strategic issues concerning our two economies and the global economy, and reached nearly 90 important outcomes in macroeconomics, trade, investment, finance, and other areas."

 

　　Wang Yang believes the extensive discussions between the two sides have also helped the countries better understand each other.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Zhang Shuangfeng.