A top US Stated Department official revealed that the ongoing talks for a bilateral investment treaty between the United States and China are showing signs of progress, even as the two countries have different opinions on several issues.

Catherine Novelli, Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, said the ongoing talks for the bilateral investment treaty between the US and China, the world's two biggest economies, are moving forward.

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"They're going very well," Novelli told reporters during a news conference.

The bilateral investment treaty, when approved and implemented by Washington and Beijing, will expand trade between the US and China, even as the two countries recently clashed on various trade-related issues.

The latest meeting to discuss the treaty was held last February and China is not expected to submit its list of areas and sectors that are not open to foreign investment and, thus, will not be covered by the bilateral investment treaty.

Analysts and economists expressed confidence that the the bilateral investment treaty will be concluded before US President Barack Obama leaves office in two years.

"I think from the China point of view, time is of the essence" Mark Schwartz, chairman of Beijing-based Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific, told reporters.

Schwartz added that completing the bilateral investment treaty could a critical part of opening up China's market to more foreign competition.

"This is a deal that the Chinese have placed the highest priority on, and they are ready to make a deal," he said.

The US-China Business Council has urged the two countries to try and conclude the agreement within this year.

Deborah Lehr, a senior fellow at the Paulson Institute, one of the conveners of the talks, said a bilateral investment treaty would be good for China because the required opening of the market would bring in investments, encouraging more competition in the consumer and services sectors.

"That in turn would help China achieve its ambitious plan to transform its economic model away from export-led growth to a more consumption-based model," she said.

Lehr added that the treaty would also help clarify regulations for Chinese companies investing in the United States. 

TagsUS-China Investment Treaty, US-China Business Deal, US-China BIT