U.S., China to take talks further

WASHINGTON — The United States and China, concluding high-level economic talks, agreed to launch negotiations on an investment treaty that holds out the promise of greatly expanded opportunities for U.S. companies in China’s vast market.

The two countries also pledged greater cooperation to deal with energy shortages and global pollution.

The agreements were announced Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., who said he believed the initiatives would produce “significant progress” on two priorities both nations share.

The announcements came as the two countries concluded two days of talks aimed at defusing simmering economic tensions. Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan participated in a joint signing ceremony in the Treasury Department’s ornate Cash Room to wrap up the fourth round of a series of talks known as the Strategic Economic Dialogue.

The announcement Wednesday represented a fleshing out of details of an agreement that was initially announced at the last round of talks in Beijing in December. Paulson said the framework would focus on five major areas -- electricity, air, water, transportation and conservation of forest and wetland ecosystems.

The decision to pursue an investment treaty with China offers the prospect of dismantling a multitude of barriers that U.S. firms now face in their efforts to do business in China.