The two days of talks were led by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the US side, and Dai and Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

'Our two countries have an important contribution to make to the global efforts to tackle climate change, to ensure energy security, to protect the environment and the only planet we have,' Dai said at the signing ceremony with Clinton.

The US, the world's largest economy, and China, the third-largest by gross domestic product, are considered critical to overcoming the first recession in the world economy since World War II.

Both governments helped 'bring the world economy back from the edge of the most acute economic crisis we've seen in decades,' Geithner said. The two sides agreed on a framework over the long term that would 'require changes both in China and the United States.'

'In the United States, this means raising private savings,' he said. 'For China, this means rebalancing towards domestic-led growth' and a 'shift away from dependence on exports.'

Wang echoed Geithner's remarks, saying both countries should work together to 'actively transform economic growth patterns.'

During the talks, the United States urged China to speed the restructuring of its economy to spur its own consumer spending and move away from overreliance on export earnings. The Chinese sought assurances that the ballooning US deficit would not threaten Beijing's $800 billion in debt holdings.

President Barack Obama held a closed-door meeting with the Chinese delegation Tuesday afternoon. He opened the gathering Monday in part by pressing China to protect human rights, minorities and religious freedom.

'Just as we respect China's ancient and remarkable culture, its remarkable achievements, we also strongly believe that the religion and culture of all peoples must be respected and protected, and that all people should be free to speak their minds,' Obama said.