Premier Li Keqiang urged the US to lift its ban on the export of high-tech products and approve the International Monetary Fund quota and governance reforms as soon as possible during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on March 30.

Li said China is poised to slash by half its limits on foreign investment, especially in the service and manufacturing sectors, and make the Chinese market more open, transparent and predictable.

Lew, who is also the special envoy of President Barack Obama, said that the United States is looking forward to cooperating with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as it welcomes and supports proposals that are helpful to infrastructure construction.

The cooperation can be carried out through the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the World Bank and the AIIB, and any other mechanisms accepted by the two countries, Lew said in his talks with Premier Li Keqiang earlier on March 30, Xinhua quoted Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao as saying.

Zhu told Xinhua after the hour-long talks that Lew also welcomes China playing a bigger role in international economic affairs.

The meeting came ahead of the March 31 deadline for countries to apply to become founding members of the AIIB, which will aim to support infrastructure projects in Asia.

During the meeting, Premier Li said a good China-US relationship is in line with the interests of both sides as well as the stability and peace of Asia Pacific, and Xi’s upcoming visit to the US in September will give a strong boost to bilateral relations.

Premier Li urged the two countries to promote mutual trust by holding bilateral exchange mechanisms, including the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which is scheduled later this year.