China and US economic and trade relations can be further enhanced in the future if trade barriers are removed, said Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping at the China-US Economics and Trade Cooperation Forum during his visit to Los Angeles on Friday.

Xi said that trade cooperation is the biggest achievement of US-China relations, citing figures that agricultural exports in 2011 amounted to $23.3 billion, breaking down to an average of $4,000 in exports for every American farmer.

Investment ties have been tightened as well, Xi said, with the scale of bilateral investment approaching $170 billion.

“Currently, there are more than 60,000 investment projects from the US, which generated sales revenue of $223.2 billion in 2010.”

According to a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, nearly 85 percent of the US companies in China saw increased profits in 2010, and 41 percent of the companies said the profit margin in China is bigger than the global average.

Xi, during the speech, stressed the agreement reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama that China and US should continue to respect each other and seek mutual benefit.

He added that it is the responsibility of the Chinese and US governments to maintain sustainable, steady and healthy trade relations, which are anticipated from companies in both countries.

Xi again called on the US to adjust its economic policies to end restrictions on high-tech exports to China.

“The restrictions have caused many American companies to lose the potential opportunities in the Chinese market,” Xi said, citing figures that in the last decade, China’s high-tech import volume has expanded from $56 billion to $463 billion, with a yearly increase of 23.5 percent on average.

“If the high-tech export from the US can remain level in 2001, its export value to China can increase by $50 billion.”

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