The signing of a mutually beneficial trade agreement at an early date will not only benefit China and the United States, but also will be good for the world economy, a spokesman for China's top political advisory body said on Saturday.

The two countries have made substantial progress in their trade talks on specific issues such as technology transfers, protection of intellectual property rights, nontariff barriers, the service industry, agriculture and exchange rates, said Guo Weimin, spokesman for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, at a news briefing.

The briefing was held in the leadup to the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, which will open on Sunday.

The two nations will continue to strengthen communication in accordance with the guidance of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and jointly advance the next-stage work, Guo said.

China and the United States concluded their seventh round of high-level trade negotiations in Washington on Feb 24, which generated positive progress after a months-old rift in bilateral trade.