Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi praised US domestic efforts in blocking protectionist legislation against China during the opening ceremony of the 18th Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Beijing on Tuesday.

She assured the American officials in attendance that China's door would stay wide open to the outside world.

During her speech, Wu extended her appreciation on behalf of China to US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, all who had jointly signed an objection letter to US Congress leaders.

She also thanked the 1,028 American economists who had made a joint public statement voicing their opposition and to the executives of 105 American companies who wrote a letter to the US Congress leaders.

"Some unharmonious notes have been heard in the Sino-US trade ties this year, marked by a sharp rise in the number of congressional legislation against China, evident politicization of economic and trade issues, strengthened control on exports to China and the purpose exaggeration of China's food and product safety," Wu said.

These had seriously damaged the reputation of China-made products and the image of China, she said.

Wu urged both sides to be far-sighted, think strategically and facilitate consultation and collaboration. "Imposing restrictions on normal trade or resorting to protective measures will be only detrimental to the interests of both sides and helpless in resolving problems."

US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez described the JCCT as an "important institution" in Sino-US ties, adding that the one-day meeting and the upcoming Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) could give the world confidence that the United States and China were "both committed to openness".

"Our number one desired approach is dialogue. I believe that we have made it work. The  best way to address our deficit is not by reducing imports. Protectionism is something we must avoid together," he said.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab echoed those sentiments by regarding dialogue as "the most effective" way to solving problems and to boosting the US-China relationship.

Chinese data showed that bilateral trade volume had rocketed from less than $2.5 billion when China and the United States established  diplomatic relations in the late 1970s to $262.68 billion in 2006.