中美战略经济对话促进双方关系

Just a day before the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, U.S Treasury Secretary Jack Lew paid a visit to Tsinghua University in Beijing.

He talked with students about some issues between the world's top two economies.

Among the topics of discussion were China's negative list and the bilateral investment treaty.

The visiting U.S Treasury Secretary said that the U.S. is waiting for the list and expecting constructive outcomes out of the BIT negotiations, before the end of President Barack Obama's term in office.

"I think that the remaining months of this administration are really very good time to double down and try, and make progress and get it, if not across the finish line, closer to the finish line, where if the BIT is in a well-developed place, it's much more likely to go forward."

Li Daokui, director of Tsinghua University's Center for China in the World Economy, says the United States and China need an agreement to remove trade protectionism in order to give investors the most preferential terms.

"China has made a lot of efforts in regards to this issue. For example, we have made a negative list, and it is quite a long one and needs to be downsized in a gradual fashion. So this round of dialogue could lead to substantial progresses for China-U.S. BIT talks."

He also expected certain principles can be identified at this year's dialogue for the new US administration to follow up.

"It's possible that the new U.S. president would have not formed a full-member administration in the same time period next year. So this dialogue will focus on issues in the longer run rather than the short-term ones. I hope that certain principles can be made out of this dialogue for the new administration to follow up. The incumbent administration can fix some principles, which will prevent the new administration from derailing from current path."

Li suggests the dialogue will also focus on the pending transition of U.S. monetary policy.

"The policy makers must take into consideration the impact the transition will have on the global economy, including China's economy, and how China's affected economy will come back to impact the U.S. economy. So we must stress repeatedly that the Federal Reserve must thoroughly consider the transition's impact on the world's economy before pushing for it, and the transition should go along only one direction."

The dialogue is scheduled to start on Monday in Beijing.

The two-day session will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

The dialogue is being held not long after the US imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on a wide-range of Chinese steel products.
　　
China has criticized these duties as irrational and harmful to diplomatic ties.

Still, academics and officials from both sides are expecting the dialogue to give a substantial boost to bilateral economic ties.