By Steven R. Weisman. The New York Times.

China and the United States announced Wednesday that they would try to negotiate a treaty to ban the discriminatory practices that each side has accused the other of using to block foreign investments. Talks to produce an accord could slip into next year and be completed by the next president, Bush administration officials said.The announcement of the treaty talks came at the end of two days of high-level economic discussions in Annapolis, Md., aimed at easing frictions over issues that include trade, currency, food and product safety.

They also said they were working on accords to let American officials be present at inspections of Chinese food, animal feed and other products.The Treasury secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. began a "strategic economic dialogue" with China two years ago, shortly after leaving Goldman Sachs to join the Bush administration. He has led delegations of Cabinet members to China twice and held similar meetings twice in the United States.Partly as a result of the dialogue, Mr. Paulson said this week, China has allowed its currency, the yuan, to appreciate more than 20 percent since mid-2005.

The issue of an undervalued yuan has been the focus of criticism of China in Congress, where lawmakers charge that the low value has been used to pump out cheap exports.But recently, along with the rise in the value of the yuan, American exports to China have grown at a faster rate than imports from China, and the currency issue has become more muted among lawmakers. The United States-China trade deficit was more than $250 billion last year.Along with complaints about the trade deficit, American businesses now charge that China is increasingly using regulations, industry standards and other methods to discourage American investments and develop its own "national champions" in telecommunications, financial services and other areas.

American foreign investment in China reached $22 billion in 2006, more than double the amount four years earlier. But Mr. Paulson and other administration officials say that China has been backsliding on its receptivity to foreign investments, especially in financial services like insurance and credit cards.

China, on the other hand, charges that the United States has been too quick to invoke "national security" to block investments in this country. The Chinese also remain upset about the furor two years ago when a government energy company tried to buy Unocal but backed down in the face of American criticism.

A new bilateral investment treaty would try to ease complaints on both sides by setting standards for non-discriminatory treatment of investments, clear and fair regulations and arbitration of disputes. China has similar treaties with several European and Asian countries.Announcement of the negotiations for a treaty brought positive but guarded reaction from American business interests.

"We think that it will give both the U.S. and China greater confidence, clarity and protection when doing business in each other's countries," said Robert S. Nichols, president of the Financial Services Forum, a trade association. He called the announcement "a measure of progress" and called for the strategic dialogue to continue in the next presidential administration.