Beijing - Beijing has urged Washington to provide a "more transparent and fairer" investment environment for Chinese companies in the United States, and to accept China's market economy status (MES) as early as possible, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Monday.

Chen also said China has "sincerity and determination" in protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), and believes that IPR protection is the "precondition" to foreign investment flow into China.

Chen made the remarks during a press conference of the second round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which opened in Beijing on Monday.

"China hopes the United States can facilitate Chinese companies' investment in the US by increasing the transparency and predictability of its foreign investment policies and relevant laws," Chen said.

All Chinese companies that invest or have interests in investing in the US currently face possible accusations of being controlled by the Chinese government, he said.

Chen also said "the two sides failed to reach a consensus on China's MES during yesterday's dialogue, but discussion of the issue will be continued in future meetings".

As a precondition to entering the World Trade Organization in 2001, China accepted some restrictive clauses, one of which was that its market economy status could not be automatically granted worldwide until 2016.

More than two-thirds of all countries have accepted China's MES, but developed nations including the US and Europe refuse to do so. This has been the major source of frequent trade remedy cases against China launched by the developed nations.

The "earlier Washington accepts China's market economy status, the more benefits it will get from the bilateral trade", Chen said. 
                                                                                                 Source: China Daily