ANNAPOLIS, Maryland -- The U.S. and China agreed to launch negotiations to establish a bilateral investment treaty, which could expand opportunities for U.S. companies in the fast-growing Chinese economy, U.S. officials said.

U.S. and Chinese officials announced the agreement at the end of the two-day Strategic Economic Dialogue, which was aimed at defusing simmering economic tensions between the two nations.

Whether the two countries will be able to come to a deal on a treaty isn't a certainty, with the U.S. concerned about whether issues such as market access in China can be appropriately addressed.

Private-sector representatives who have been following the talks, which have continued for more than 1½ years, have said any deal likely won't cover certain areas, such as the financial-services sector.

But U.S. officials say nothing is off the table. "We believe that we've got a reasonably good chance of being able to negotiate an agreement with China that will meet the high standards typical of U.S. bilateral investment treaties," an official told reporters on a conference call.

"Whether or not we actually conclude an agreement will depend very much on the kind of quality of what we think we can get out of that negotiation," the official said.

The U.S. has bilateral investment treaties with nearly 40 nations. They are designed to make it easy for one country to invest in the other through reciprocal rules governing basic issues such as arbitration. China has such treaties with more than 100 nations, and it said the talks with the U.S. are a continuing effort.

China's minister of commerce, Chen Deming, said the investment talks wouldn't be affected by the change of presidency in the U.S., since any deal would benefit economic growth of the two nations.

"I don't think that is related to a specific president or a specific administration," said Mr. Chen at a news briefing. "For any president or administration, you have to ensure that an adequate regime would be put into place to ensure our investors' interests will be adequately protected."

China's huge trade surplus has become a thorny issue in U.S.-China trade relations. U.S. officials have urged China to continue to address the imbalance, particularly by allowing its currency to continue to appreciate against the dollar. Despite a 20% percent rise in the yuan since a dollar peg was removed in July 2005, some analysts think the appreciation is far from enough.

Mr. Chen said China will continue to invest in other countries since the nation's long-term trade surplus has led to surging foreign reserves, already the world's largest.

"Investing abroad is a way to address such trade surpluses," Mr. Chen said. China wants to play "a more responsible role in world economic stability."

Still, Mr. Chen took note of the booming trade with the U.S. -- the volume of bilateral trade grew to $302.1 billion last year from $2.5 billion in 1979, the year the U.S. and China officially established relations.

During Wednesday's Strategic Economic Dialogue talks, the two sides had a session on trade and competitiveness, and Mr. Chen said he understood the concern from the U.S. side regarding food quality and safety. But he cautioned that this shouldn't be used as a fodder for trade protectionism.

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