Mumbai: Chinese companies will increase imports from the United States, which is ridden by a widening trade deficit, even as even companies from the two countries sign deals worth $13.6 billion.

The two countries are also likely to begin talks regarding a bilateral investment treaty is this week, a US trade official said.

The deals, signed in Washington and St Louis, Missouri , come just ahead of the fourth `China-US strategic economic dialogue' aimed at endorsing talks for a bilateral investment treaty, Chinese officials said.

US high-tech manufacturing and telecommunication companies signed 35 deals worth $8.3 billion at the two-day talks in Washington, the Chinese government said in a statement.

The US firms that signed the deals included General Motors, Texas instruments, Cisco, Ford, IBM, Oracle and Motorola while cellphone operator China Mobile led the Chinese side.

In St Louis, Chinese and US companies signed contracts worth $5.32 billion for the purchase of soybeans as well as chemical, telecommunication and electromechanical products, the statement said.

The deals are part of moves to improve US-China ties and form ''an important part of the series of programmes taken by Chinese business to increase imports from the United States," Chinese commerce minister Chen Deming said.
 
The current US-China strategic talks come in the backdrop of post-quake relief and reconstruction work in China, efforts at stabilising the stock markets and preparations for the Olympic Games.

Since their first round of bilateral strategic economic dialogue in December 2006, US and China, the two main engines of the global economy, have tried to contribute to the macro-economic development through rational dialogue.

The latest round of strategic talks have attracted much attention as China and the US occupy important positions in the global system and the current volatility in the global economy.

The two countries have made significant achievements in cooperation on a wide range of issues, including opening up of financial markets, allowing bilateral investments, intellectual property right (IPR) protection, energy resources and the environment, climate change, product quality and food safety.

While the US acted to contain trade protectionism, the Chinese have done more, including allowing the yuan to appreciate against the US dollar by 16 per cent so far.

The US wants China to step up financial services industry reform, sign an agreement on protection of investment and IPR, improve product quality, ensure food safety and so on; while the Chinese side hopes to strengthen strategic mutual confidence, increase macro-economic policy coordination and repel trade protectionism.

The US has bilateral investment treaties with nearly 40 countries.

See: GM, Ford, Chrysler to send $2 billion in parts, vehicles to China