Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi addresses the closing ceremony of the first US-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Yang said participants from both sides have exchanged ideas, and significant outcomes were achieved during the two-day summit. President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US carries great significance and is believed to serve as a new impetus for the China-US relationship, expanding bilateral cooperation and deepening the friendship between the two nations' peoples, said the state councilor.

Business leaders from China and the United States gathered Wednesday in Los Angeles to discuss their roles in fighting climate change and the opportunities for driving green, low-carbon development.

"Frequently, environmental objectives can be seen as incompatible with economic growth. We believe it is possible to meet both environmental objectives and have economic prosperity," Theodore F Craver Jr, CEO of Edison International, told a business leaders roundtable meeting during the first US-China Low-Carbon and Smart Cities Summit, also known as US-China Climate Leaders Summit.

Innovation, ingenuity, private capital and well-functioning markets make it possible to meet both objectives, he said, adding that it is the company's responsibility to devise solutions to create a low-carbon and prosperous economy.

Craver's remarks were echoed by Li Chunguang, director president of Sinopec Corp, who said his company has realized significant reduction in carbon emissions while keeping the production steadily expanded.

"In 2013, we launched an environmental protection drive and set the goal of investing $3.8 billion in low-carbon programs," he said.

"So far, we have invested $2.5 and have largely maintained clean production."

"The US and China are the two largest economies and also the two largest carbon producers, which means we have the power to shape the future of our planet," said Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, deputy energy secretary,

She said business-to-business collaboration is as important as government dialogue, as it can produce the technologies, business models and policies to fulfill the climate commitments.

In stressing the role of businesses, Su Wei, director general of the Department of Climate Change of China's National Development and Reform Commission, called on the companies from both sides to incorporate climate-change issues in their operations and marketing practices.

Cities are responsible for 70 percent of CO2 emissions, and 90 percent of the world's urban areas sit on coastal lines, which makes them more vulnerable to climate change.

"Making our cities smarter means to equip them with the tools that they need to address the pressing problems their citizens care the most about, such as traffic congestion, sustainability and delivery of the city's services," said Randall. "Private industries will do much of the heavy lifting to take clean energy technologies to market."

Tacking climate change takes the whole world's efforts, said Guo Yong, chairman of Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group Co Ltd. "I hope China and the US, along with advanced countries can set up a low-carbon alliance, promoting new energy technologies without barriers."

In China, a similar alliance focused on energy efficiency and emissions reduction is underway with the efforts of some companies and universities, according to Guo.

The services and products for low-carbon, green technologies is expected to be the largest market in the future, said Gene Sykes, co-head of Global Mergers and Acquisitions and co-chair of the global technology, Media and Telecom Group. "There will be ups and downs and I won't be surprised when it happens. But the trend line will be up," he said.

"China and the US also are two of the world's largest producers of clean energy. Together we can show that finding solutions, driving down costs and deploying technologies at scale can also drive jobs and growth in our economies," Randall said.