Dialogue agrees on strengthened China-US commercial ties

China and the United States will take steps to deepen cooperation and strengthen trust for closer commercial ties, according to the fourth annual U.S.-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue ending Wednesday. Starting from June 4, the fourth dialogue was joined by Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue. Business leaders and former senior officials of China and the United States agreed that economic reform, openness and competition will have positive influences in promoting the economic development of both countries as well as expanding employment and promoting innovation. U.S. participants in the dialogue voiced support for China's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and Chinese participants expressed support for the United States and other economies joining a future Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. In the joint statement released after the dialogue, both sides called for a removal of unreasonable restrictions on exports of high-tech products, a simplification of the foreign investment review procedure, resistance against trade protectionism and a reduction of non-tariff barriers. China and the United States are each other's second-largest trade partner. In 2012, China-U.S. trade reached 484.7 billion U.S. dollars,official data showed.