Baucus says investment pact will open new chapter in ties

The US is the world's top recipient of foreign direct investment, followed by China. Analysts believe a bilateral investment pact will help reshape global investment rules.

"The Sino-US treaty talks and the introduction of the ‘negative list' approach in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone show the Chinese government's determination to reform the regulations for foreign investment,"Zhan Xiaoning, director of the investment and enterprise division at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, said in a note on Tuesday.

"China needs to engage in the building of higher global investment rules through participating in high-standard bilateral, regional and multilateral investment pact talks,"Zhan said.

Baucus noted that China is "again at a critical junction"in its development and new challenges have emerged.

"Building a modern, energy-efficient, innovative economy that can deliver equitable and sustainable growth required a new round of broad-based reform when China joined the WTO,"Baucus said. "I believe China now faces a new WTO moment."

The annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between China and the US is scheduled to take place in early July, where the two countries will discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional and global political, strategic, security, and economic issues.

"We will use the dialogue to advocate aggressively the things that matter most to the business community, that is, removing investment restrictions, improving (intellectual property rights) protection, increasing transparency, especially in regulatory proceedings, and creating a level playing field for all companies in China,"the ambassador said.

He added that environment will also remain a top priority of his tenure as cooperation on climate change and other pressing concerns build trust between the two countries.

He added that the US welcomes China's rise, and a strong, stable, prosperous China is good for the US, for the region and also for the world.

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