China and the United States have made progress in negotiations on making the United States a destination for Chinese tourists, a top Chinese tourism official said on Thursday evening in Los Angeles.

"In our latest meeting in Washington, U.S. colleagues and I have made huge steps toward giving the United States destination status for Chinese tourists," said Shao Qiwei, chairman of Chinese National Tourism Administration.

Speaking at a tourism promotion event called "China Tourism Night" in downtown Los Angeles, Shao called the recent progress "good news for the U.S. tourism industry."

"China and the U.S. both are giants in tourism with global impact. The destination status will also help establish a win-win relationship between China and U.S. tourism industries," he added.

According to Shao, China registered 30 million overseas travels last year, with only 530,000 to the United States.

"With the boom in the economy and healthy development of Sino-U.S. ties, more Chinese tourists are hoping to travel to the United States," he said.

But U.S. tourism officials are worried that the strict visa process of their country would block Chinese travellers, as well as business opportunities.

"The major problem lies in our visa process," said Mark Liberman, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We wish that more Chinese tourists can travel to the United States, and especially here, Los Angeles," said Liberman. "They can visit a lot of famous attractions here, such as Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, and the beaches, they can also visit their relatives living here."

(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2006)