On February 17 local time, visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of US-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Los Angeles and delivered a speech.

Xi expressed his pleasure to visit the beautiful city of Los Angeles on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of President Nixon's visit to China and the issuance of Shanghai Communiqué and to attend the opening ceremony of the Forum. Los Angeles is an important gateway of trade between the US and China and its customs area handles 40% of the total US-China trade volume every year. The Forum held in the city provides a platform for the business sectors of both countries to strengthen exchanges and deepen cooperation. He extended warm congratulations on the Forum and sincere greetings and best wishes to all the friends who had made contributions to the development of China-US relations.

Over the past 40 years, especially since China and the US established diplomatic relations 33 years ago, the two countries have moved from a stage of being almost isolated from each other to the current status of close exchanges and deeply converged interests. The bilateral relations have become one of the most important, dynamic and potential bilateral relations in the world. Reviewing the development of China-US economic and trade relations, he expressed three deep thoughts:

First, economic and trade cooperation has become the brightest point of China-US relations. The mutually beneficial bilateral economic and trade relations are showing the momentum of widening cooperation areas, increasing cooperation size and rising cooperation level. The two countries are already the second largest trading partner of each other. For 10 years in a row, China has become one of the fastest growing export markets of the US. Chinese enterprises are very enthusiastic to invest in the US.

Second, being mutually beneficial is the most distinctive characteristic of China-US economic and trade cooperation. China has benefited a lot from developing economic and trade relations with the US and the latter has profited significantly as well over the past 40 years, especially since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties 33 years ago. Both sides are winners. It is mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation in a real sense.

Third, structural complementarities are the biggest merit of China-US economic and trade cooperation. The economic structures of China and the US are highly complementary, which both generates the endogenous demand for cooperation and brings huge cooperation benefits. The two countries have established multiple dialogue and cooperation mechanisms which play an important role of gathering consensus, solving differences and promoting cooperation and help effectively boost the strong, sustainable and balanced growth of world economy and strengthen the global economic governance.

He said that the general direction of building China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit determined jointly by President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama fully demonstrates the characteristics and requirements of China-US relations under new circumstances. It is the common responsibility and aspiration of the two governments to stimulate the sustained, healthy and stable development of the win-win China-US economic and trade relations at a new historical starting point. He raised four points of proposals:

First, seize market opportunities and promote balanced trade development. China will speed up the transformation of economic growth mode in the 12th "five-year plan" period and the US government is implementing the National Export Initiative to attract foreign investment. The same direction of macroeconomic policies of the two countries creates key opportunities for deepening the bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Second, build an enabling environment and enhance mutual investment. We will continue to open wider and deeper to the outside world and encourage all the companies in China to compete fairly and make active innovations on the Chinese market and push forward technological progress and social development while winning market shares. He hopes the US continues to create a fair and enabling environment for the investment of Chinese companies, avoid the interference of political factors in economic cooperation and boost the confidence of Chinese companies in investing in the US.

Third, expand cooperation areas and foster new economic and trade growth points. He hopes enterprises of both sides seize the opportunities of industrial restructuring in the two countries, speed up cooperation in clean energy, information technology and other emerging sectors and inject vigor into the economic and trade cooperation. Entrepreneurs of both countries are expected to explore new cooperation approaches and channels and try to convert new cooperation opportunities into more tangible results.

Fourth, address challenges together and strengthen global governance cooperation. China is willing to keep and step up communication and coordination with the US on such global issues as handling the international financial crisis, the Doha round of talks and the organizational reform of the IMF, jointly cope with regional and global challenges, promote the implementation of the G20 Cannes Summit results and make contributions to reinforcing global governance system reform and maintaining and boosting the stable and sustained growth of world economy.

He noted that China has achieved world-acclaimed development over the past more than 30 years since it launched reform and opening up. But it is still the largest developing country in the world. We sincerely hope the international community understands the desire of the Chinese people to completely get rid of poverty and build a prosperous country, trust the sincerity and determination of the Chinese people to take the road of peaceful development, respect the emphasis of the Chinese people on national sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and social stability and support China to follow the road of peaceful development in various ways.

Gao Hucheng, International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce of China presided over the opening ceremony. US Commerce Secretary Bryson, Governor of California Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa addressed the opening ceremony respectively. They thanked Xi for visiting Los Angeles and attending the Forum and spoke highly of the Chinese leaders attaching importance to US-China economic and trade cooperation and cooperation at local levels. They noted that the American people, including those in California and Los Angeles have witnessed the rapid growth of such cooperation. To strengthen the partnership between the US and China which are the two biggest economies in the world not only promotes the development of each of the two countries but also helps solve global challenges. The open US market welcomes investment from China. They would like to spare no efforts to further enhance the bilateral cooperation and develop a vigorous US-China cooperative partnership.