Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Monday that China and the United States had not yet reached agreement over the issue of China's market economy status.

Both sides showed their willingness to continue the discussion at another "important meeting" to be held in the United States this year, said Chen at a news briefing on the second round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogues (S&ED) in Beijing.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming

When China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), all the WTO members agreed to accept China's market economy status no later than 2010, Chen said.

"More than two thirds of the countries have accepted China's market economy status," Chen said.

China believed that a country's market economy status should be decided by whether the market determines the distribution of resources, Chen said.

"Market economy can be in various forms instead of a unified one," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as representatives of U.S. President Barack Obama, are co-chairing the S&ED from May 24-25 respectively with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Vice Premier Wang Qishan, representatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

About 50 representatives from more than 40 departments of both countries are participating in the dialogues, designed to enhance mutual understanding and trust between China and the United States.