The two-day annual talks feature comprehensive and in-depth exchanges between high-level delegations from both sides.

　　Zhu Guangyao, China's Vice Finance Minister, says the talk has one special purpose this year.

　　"The core purpose of the U.S. -China Strategic and Economic Dialogue is to create an atmosphere for the important dialogue between both countries' top leaders in September. The talks prepare for the meeting and extract useful information."

　　中美战略与经济对话举行

　　The talks, held at a time when the bilateral ties are strained over China's land reclamation in the South China Sea and the U.S. allegation of China's hacking of U.S. federal computer networks, are expected to ease the tensions to create a positive atmosphere for President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S. in fall.

　　In the eyes of many political and diplomatic analysts, this coming September will be the highlight of China-U.S. interactions for the whole year, as President Xi will be paying his first state visit to the US.

　　Another highlight of the talks involves the progress made on an investment treaty between China and US.

　　During the Strategic & Economic Dialogue, both sides will exchange negative lists, a key step in the negotiations.

　　Once the treaty is signed, China will be able to expand investment in the US, while the United States will create more job opportunities.

　　The talks will also focus on how both countries will jointly deal with climate change as well as topics such as the South China Sea and cyber security.

　　Alongside the Dialogue, the 6th China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange is also set to kick off in Washington.

　　For more on the upcoming talks, CRI's Liu Kun earlier spoke with Shen Dingli, vice director of Institute of International Studies at Fudan University.