WASHINGTON - Vice-President Xi Jinping urged business leaders in China and the United States to turn cooperation opportunities into successful ventures and hoped they could help further economic cooperation between the two nations.

Xi and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, held a roundtable with American and Chinese CEOs in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, discussing the global economic outlook and ways to strengthen US-China business relations.

Xi said business leaders had made significant contributions to China-US economic and trade ties.

After the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Xi, the two countries also said they had agreed on further strengthening economic relations.

The outcomes include: China wishes to increase imports from the United States, including in commercial high technology products; both countries will continue to exchange views on developments in European financial markets; and they also agreed to share relevant information on their respective regional free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the China, Japan, Republic of Korea free trade agreement.

Business leaders from the US-China Business Council (USCBC), the US Chamber of Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) attended the roundtable. Notable participants from the US included Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of Walt Disney, and Keith E. Williams, president and CEO of Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL), a product safety certification company.

"USCBC applauds the commitment by Vice-Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping to enhance commercial relations and hear directly from senior American and Chinese business leaders on ways to foster more economic growth for both nations," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola and chairman of the US-China Business Council. "China will be the critical business opportunity for American companies in the years ahead and it is important to share our views with the political leadership of our two nations."

Topics included prospects for the US economy and global economic recovery, prospects for the Chinese economy and the domestic business outlook, investment environments in the US and China, and improving trade in goods and services. During the roundtable discussion, both nations said that both sides must continue to work together in promoting commercial cooperation and opposing protectionism.

This is the second dialogue between the vice-presidents and business leaders from both countries. USCBC and CCPIT co-hosted a similar dialogue in Beijing during Biden's visit in August.

The US Department of Treasury released a joint fact sheet on strengthening US-China economic relations on Tuesday and stated that the US and China are currently promoting sustainable and balanced growth.

The Treasury report said that US and China are committed to comprehensive policy measures to achieve a more balanced trade and to grow investment in both nations. It also said China wishes to increase imports from the US, such as high-tech products.

The report also said the US and China are aiming to exchange views on developments in European financial markets and discuss approaches that can support Europe's own efforts to overcome its debt crises.

It warned that WTO rules should be strictly observed when initiating trade investigations and imposing trade measures.

China Daily