China, U.S. highlight “constructive” management of differences

World Today

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew meets with entrepreneurs from both countries in Beijing, capital of China, July 10, 2014. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

Chinese and U.S. officials agreed on “constructive” management of differences as the sixth Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) concluded Thursday.

“The success of this round of talks reaffirms that the two countries have the ability and wisdom to manage their contradictions and differences,” Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, one of the two Chinese co-chairs of the dialogue, said at the closing session.

Wang highlighted that the economic dialogue yielded more than 90 items of agreement, which will be the foundation for the November meeting of the two presidents.

Both sides agreed to resolve core issues and major provisions of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) by the end of the year, and initiate negotiations on the “negative list” — namely sectors and items barred to each other’s investment — in early 2015.

The U.S. promised to apply the same rules and standards when reviewing foreign investment projects and to continue to review the procedure with China.

The two countries had constructive discussions on expanding WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) negotiations.

The U.S. will encourage the export of civil high-technology products to China, and adjust its approval procedures for liquefied natural gas exports.

China and the U.S. also agreed to reinforce cooperation in shadow banking, cross-border supervision, accounting standards and other financial matters. The U.S. promised to treat Chinese financial institutions as compliant.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who co-chaired the dialogue, acknowledged the progress on a wide range of issues since the annual talks initiated in 2009.

“Today’s S&ED commitments will further China’s implementation of its reform agenda and will create new opportunities for both of our nations,” Lew said.

This article originally appeared in Xinhua