American and Chinese firms signed deals worth $US13.6 billion ($A14.5 billion) ahead of a high level meeting that could formally endorse talks for a bilateral investment treaty, officials said.
Beijing said the agreements inked in Washington and St Louis, Missouri were part of plans by Chinese companies to increase imports from the trade deficit-ridden United States.
The deals gave a psychological boost to the two-day US-China cabinet-level "strategic economic dialogue" (SED), which will grapple with wide ranging issues beginning Tuesday at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, east of Washington.
Thirty-five deals worth $US8.3 billion ($A8.8 billion) were signed by high-tech, manufacturing and telecommunication companies at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, the Chinese government said in a statement.
The chamber said among US firms linked to the deals were General Motors, Texas Instruments, Cisco, Ford, IBM, Oracle and Motorola. Chinese firms included dominant local mobile phone operator China Mobile.
In St Louis, companies from the two nations signed contracts valued at $US5.3 billion ($A5.7 billion) for the purchase of soybeans as well as chemical, telecommunication and electromechanical products, the statement said.
The deals will contribute to the "healthy development" of US-China ties and signify "an important part of the series of programs taken by Chinese business people to increase imports from the United States," said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming as he witnessed the signing of agreements in Washington.
The United States is saddled with a ballooning trade deficit with China, which hit a record $US256.2 billion ($A272.8 billion) last year.
