China on Thursday hailed the role of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in bilateral trade, saying the upcoming meeting will further promote economic ties.

The China-US JCCT has played "an irreplaceable role" in boosting and deepening the economic ties between China and the United States, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference.

She said the 19th meeting, scheduled for Los Angeles next Tuesday, will exert a positive influence on expanding cooperation and solving problems in China-US trade.

The meeting will also mark the 25th anniversary of the China-US JCCT. The JCCT is a high-level government-to-government dialogue, seeking to open market opportunities and resolve trade disputes.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan will co-chair the meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

According to Jiang, Wang's entourage includes a dozen ministerial officials from the Ministry of Commerce, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, the General Administration of Civil Aviation and several other ministries.

The Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong, and US Ambassador to China Clark Randt, will also attend the meeting as usual.

China and the United States are each other's second largest trade partners. Statistics from Chinese Ministry of Commerce show that the two-way trade volume topped 300 billion US dollars in 2007, some 120 times as much 30 years ago when the two countries first forged diplomatic ties.

Labelling the main feature of China-US economic ties as "mutual beneficial", Jiang said bilateral economic cooperation "brings real benefits for the two peoples, and contributes a lot to the global economy."

As for the problems and disputes that popped up between China and the United States, Jiang said it is "quite common", as the bilateral economic ties are developing "so rapidly on such a large scale".

"I hope the two sides could take the overall situation into consideration, sticking to solving problems via dialogues and consultation on equal footing and expanding cooperation," Jiang said.

"It is proven that dialogues and consultations are indeed effective," she added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2008)