NEGOTIATIONS to bring about a bilateral investment treaty between China and the United States could be concluded within two years, but ratification would then be a tough process, China’s vice finance minister said Friday.

    Zhu Guangyao said that good progress had been made since the two countries agreed in July to intensify talks on the treaty and there had already been 12 rounds of talks for technical clarification of the text.

    “If [we give an] optimum estimate, within the next two years we can conclude negotiations,” Zhu told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington.

    “Now is a very good beginning ... however, the next stage is still very hard for negotiation.”

    A treaty would also need to be approved by the legislatures in both countries, a process that would also be “very tough,” Zhu said.

    He said the two sides had agreed to make an exchange early next year of “negative lists” of sensitive sectors that are off-limits to investment.

    (SD-Agencies)