CRI听力:China-U.S. S&ED Expected to Keep Ties on Track

China's Ministry of Finance says the two countries are likely to make progress on Bilateral Investment Treaty during the annual meeting.

China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao:

"It is expected that during the meeting, under the efforts of Vice Premier Wang Yang and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, the two sides will reach a new consensus on the Bilateral Investment Treaty, starting negative list-based negotiations as soon as possible. Such talks will be substantial. We believe if the two parties manage to reach a consensus in the end, it will be a historical development."

China wants the US to narrow its national security reviews on Chinese investment, while the U.S. wants China's negative list, which details sectors barring U.S investment, to be as short as possible.

Apart from the treaty, Zhu Guangyao says the two sides will talk about the exchange rate of the RMB and the impact of US monetary policy.

Earlier, China urged Washington to pay attention to the possible spillover effect of changes in its monetary policy on the world economy.

The two countries are also expected to touch upon other issues including new energy and climate change.

China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang:

"The talks will involve major bilateral, regional and global issues. The two sides will exchange ideas on China-US relations, each other's foreign policies, sensitive issues and international issues concerning both countries. The two sides will also talk about climate change, technology and innovation, the situation in Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the illegal animal trade."

The Chinese foreign ministry also says the strategic sessions should provide an opportunity to deal with areas of concern, such as maritime disputes and cyber security.

Former U.S. ambassador to China Stapleton Roy also expressed his concern to the coming dialogue, stressing the importance of such a mechanism between China and the United States.

"Can we imagine that we will be in the United States' interests for us to have a hostile relationship with China? It will divide the region. It will result in enormous waste of resources on military expenditures. It has the possibility of dangerous conflict between two powerful countries. That's not the type of world we want. And therefore, it's very important for us to have mechanisms that work and try to address the types of issues that arise between two countries such as China and the United States. And I think this Strategic and Economic Dialogue is one of those mechanisms."

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.

The fifth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange will also be held at the same time.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S.

For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.