China's ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong said in Beijing Thursday that the "Buy America" provision, which U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law last month, will have a passive impact on other countries.

The "Buy America" provision, as part of Obama administration's roughly 900 billion-U.S. dollar stimulus plan, requires all public works projects funded by stimulus dollars to use only U.S.-made iron and steel.

The provision has invited concerns from major trading partners, including Europe, Canada and Japan. Economists warned it could trigger trade wars to the detriment of the already faltering world economy.

Asked to comment on the provision, Zhou said trade protectionism will not help solve problems brought about by the international financial crisis. "It can only make the problems worse," he said.

The ambassador is in Beijing for the annual session of the 11thNational Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which opened Tuesday.

On China-U.S. relations, Zhou said a top priority for the two countries is to jointly combat international financial crisis.

Since President Obama took office, leaders of the two countries have had many contacts, said Zhou, a member of the political advisory body.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited China last month. The two sides agreed to enhance coordination on combating global economic crisis, advance bilateral cooperation in fields including finance, energy resources and environmental protection.

Zhou said relations between China and the United States are stable now.

"If the two countries could treat each other as equals and seek common ground while putting aside differences, the China-U.S. relations will be able to develop steadily," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2009)