Yearender: 10 keywords for China-U.S. relations in 2015 (1)

Throughout 2015, the world has watched with great interest the development of China-U.S. relations, as many believe almost every interaction between the world's top two economies has a bearing on all major global issues.

Here are some keywords that reflect the most discussed topics and eye-catching events regarding China-U.S. relations in the past year, which Xinhua has sifted from tens of thousands of relevant media reports and online talks.

STATE VISIT

Nearly three years after assuming office, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to the United States in late September, which was described by both sides as a "milestone" in bilateral ties.

Xi's tightly-scheduled four-day tour featured a grand welcome ceremony with a 21-gun salute, a White House state dinner, meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama and senior administration officials, keynote policy speeches, and face-to-face interactions with leading political figures, business executives and ordinary Americans. A total of 49 tangible outcomes were announced following the presidential talks, which Obama said were "extremely productive."

Most experts in China and the United States hold that Xi's visit and his meeting with Obama exceeded expectations in stabilizing bilateral relations through constructive management of differences and practical cooperation on priority issues.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Following last year's landmark pact that committed both countries to large emissions cuts, a joint presidential statement was issued during Xi's visit, outlining ambitious goals to push for a global climate pact at a UN-backed summit in Paris.

U.S. officials praised it as "a significant step forward in U.S.-China leadership on climate change" and "a critical precursor" to a successful global climate agreement. And the UN climate chief said that China "has taken an undisputed leadership" in global climate efforts.

As a landmark climate accord was finally reached in Paris last week, experts say that Beijing and Washington would continue to play a key role in its implementation and the world's long-term battle against global warming.

SURGING INVESTMENT

U.S. figures show that China has become the fastest-growing national investor in the country, with investment in real estate, hospitality and technology services taking the largest share. Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States is estimated to surpass 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, the third year in a row.

Meanwhile, U.S. investment in China also remains stable, as Chinese authorities pledge to stick to the opening-up policy and seriously address foreign investors' concerns regarding market access, fair competition and legal protection.

China and the United States are also working on a high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), with both governments saying that they would take it as a "top economic priority."

BIG ORDERS

According to a U.S.-China Business Council report, U.S. exports to China surged 198 percent in the past decade, with an annual average growth of 13 percent, and China now ranks among the top three export destinations for 39 of the 50 U.S. states.

Boeing has turned out to be the biggest winner of 2015, pocketing a huge Chinese order of 300 aircraft worth a total of 38 billion dollars.

With bilateral trade growing to 591 billion dollars in 2014 from a mere 2 billion dollars in 1979, leading economists like Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz have noted that the economic interests of China and the United States are intricately intertwined, and that China's growth is complementary to that of the United States.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES

Latest statistics show that over 274,000 students from China attended U.S. schools in the 2013-14 school year, accounting for 31 percent of all international students and contributing an estimated 22 billion dollars to the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is financing 50,000 Chinese and American students to study in each other's country over the next three years, and the U.S. side is endorsing an initiative to have 1 million American children learning Mandarin Chinese in schools by 2020.

The year 2015 has continued to see big-spending Chinese tourists flock to the United States. In the previous year, China became the sixth-largest source of inbound tourism to the United States, and a whopping 23.8 billion dollars were spent by the shopping-crazed Chinese tourists.

(To be continu