Xi pledges more access to China's markets

Xi said he hoped that both sides will push to finalize the treaty ahead of schedule.

Henry Paulson, former US Treasury secretary, said: "Both of our countries are essential to global growth. Yet both countries must carry out structural reforms to move their economies into a more growth-conducive footing for the long term and find ways to address issues such as commercial cyber-theft and climate change.

"Despite many challenges, there are vastly more areas for cooperation than ever before," Paulson added.

A closed-door discussion moderated by Paulson preceded Xi's address.

According to a news release from the Paulson Institute, the US and Chinese CEOs discussed increasing investment in each other's markets, and both sides expressed a desire for increased access for business.

The US CEOs also noted the importance of addressing intellectual property protection and called for common standards and transparent regulations. Both the US and Chinese CEOs highlighted opportunities for cooperation on clean technology projects.

Other CEOs in attendance were Mary Barra of General Motors Co, Dave Cote of Honeywell Co, Robert Iger of The Walt Disney Co, Ellen Kullman of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co, Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical Co, Satya Nadella of Microsoft Co, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo Inc, Dennis Muilenburg of Boeing, Ginni Rometty of IBM Corp and Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corp. Tom Pritzker, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp, and John Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco Systems Inc, also attended.