The U.S. and China agreed to begin negotiations for an investment treaty that would guarantee access for the nations' companies to buy assets in the other country, representatives said at the close of a week-long meeting in Annapolis.

A second day of strategic economic dialogue discussions moved to Washington from the U.S. Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis as U.S. said it was about to start negotiating a bilateral investment treaty with China.

The investment talks are set to cover market-access issues and will seek to establish formal fair treatment rights, which means that inward investors would be assured the same treatment as domestic investors.

As talks began in Annapolis, U.S. officials repeated their call for China to stop subsidizing fuel for its citizens, suggesting that it contributes to surging demand for oil and is resulting in higher global prices.

Since Chinese citizens pay a fraction of the market price, they have less incentive to pull back in their use of gasoline and heating oil.

The United States also asked China to release more information about what it is doing with its strategic petroleum reserve and to share more information with the International Energy Agency so the world can better deal with supply disruptions.