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Resuming talks on a China-US bilateral investment treaty (BIT) will bring benefits to both countries, a senior Chinese analyst said on Monday, after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi floated the idea of resuming BIT talks in a meeting with representatives of US companies in China.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, called on Monday for the two sides to cooperate on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery and climate change, according to a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's website.

He made the comment during a video conference with a delegation from the US-China Business Council's board of directors in Beijing on Monday.

Specifically, Wang outlined reconsidering resuming BIT talks, which has been shelved for years, and restarting economic policy dialogue and coordination mechanism along with other suggestions to foster trade and economic cooperation.

"Resuming the China-US BIT will bring benefits to the US and I think we can expect feedback from Biden's administration," said Gao Lingyun, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing closely following the China-US trade tensions.

"Although the process of reaching a BIT between the world's two largest economies will be a long and arduous one, having such a treaty could better address many of the concerns from both sides," Gao told the Global Times on Monday, noting that the troubles faced by ByteDance's Tik Tok and Huawei would be better dealt with under a BIT dispute settlement mechanism.

Wang's call came as China and the EU race toward a declared year-end deadline to conclude their BIT talks, which entered their 35th round on Monday.

The China-US BIT talks will also discuss the US' concerns, such as state-owned enterprises and subsidies, Gao said, noting that China's determination to open its market to foreign companies and improve its business environment won't be daunted by difficulties.

Global Times