Senior officials of China and the United States gathered?in Los Angeles?on Tuesday to discuss various business and trade issues in order to seek ways to facilitate bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

The 19th meeting of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerceand Trade (JCCT), held in the Nixon Presidential Library near Los Angeles, was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

The one-day event also marked the 25 anniversary of the China-US JCCT, a high-level government-to-government dialogue, seeking to open market opportunities and resolve trade disputes.

In his opening speech, Wang said that it is especially significant that China and the United States maintain close economic and trade exchanges at this moment when the international conomic and financial situations are turbulent.

"The Chinese government is well aware the fact that the United States, the world's largest developed country, and China, which is the world's largest developing country, should have constructive and cooperative economic and trade relations," the Chinese vice premier said.

Gutierrez and Schwab welcome the Chinese guests in their speeches, and said the high-level dialogue between the two governments to solve problems and disputes would be a mutual benefit.

Wang was leading a delegation of senior officials form 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 for the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)