Talks will focus on length and quality of 'negative lists'

China and the United States will focus on the length and quality of "negative lists" - documents that spell out sectors closed to foreign investment - during the next two rounds of negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.

"During the latest 19th round of negotiations, the two sides exchanged initial offers of negative lists," Zhang Xiangchen, China's deputy international trade representative and assistant commerce minister, said at a news briefing on the sidelines of the seventh round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

"The negative list itself is a major progress in the negotiations, and both sides described it as a milestone event," Zhang said, adding that it will "fundamentally change the foreign investment administration regime" and "substantially facilitate foreign investment" in China.