Timetable laid out for investment treaty talks

The two-day high-level dialogue between China and the United States has led to a timetable for talks on a bilateral investment treaty and other agreements in broad areas, boosting relations between the world's two largest economies despite remaining differences.

This year, the two countries will try to reach consensus on the core issues of the text of the bilateral investment treaty negotiations. They pledged to start the second phase of negotiations in 2015 over the negative list, which specifies bans and restrictions on types of foreign investment, Vice-Premier Wang Yang said on Thursday during the conclusion of the sixth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

The S&ED, held in Beijing, narrowed divergences and brought about more than 90 agreements, Wang said.