By Anna Yukhananov

China expressed a desire to increase its investment in U.S. shale gas during talks between the two countries on Wednesday, an American official said.

Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped in recent years with the increased use of drilling methods such as hydraulic fracturing. Companies in China, which has the largest shale reserves in the world, are keen to get the know-how for drilling in such unconventional fields.

As the world's largest energy consumer, China is also scouting for oil and gas supplies abroad to feed its energy appetite.

China already has about $5.5 billion invested in U.S. natural gas, and said it also welcomes greater American investment in China's own energy industry, the U.S. administration official said.

Chinese and U.S. officials met to discuss energy issues as part of the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington this week.

"There's a very strong Chinese interest to be able to benefit and learn from American technology and American investment," the U.S. official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

"There's a recognition on both sides that we both gain from investing in each other's energy markets, and a commitment to work to resolve obstacles that might exist to investment."

In a deal this year, the Chinese company Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil refiner, bought a $1 billion stake in the Mississippi Lime shale formation from Chesapeake Energy Corp.

But Chinese firms also face obstacles to investing in certain strategic sectors, and China regularly complains that the United States blocks access to plum investment prospects on national security grounds.

U.S. companies, for their part, complain China heavily restricts foreign investment in about 100 different sectors.

"(We discussed) China's interest as well (in) being a recipient of American investment in unconventional oil and gas, and especially gas, and the critical need to address some of the constraints," the administration official said.

Both countries also talked about doing a better job of sharing data on energy supply and demand, as well as on national energy reserves.

中美贸易：中国希望加大对美国页岩气的投资

一名美国官员表示，在周三的中美两国会谈期间，中国表达了加大投资美国页岩气的意愿。

随着水力压裂等钻探方法的加大使用，最近几年美国和加拿大的页岩田产出攀升。中国企业渴望获得对这种非常规油田进行钻探的技术。中国拥有全球最大的页岩储备。

作为全球最大的能源消费国，中国也在海外寻找石油和天然气供应，以满足本国的能源需求。

这名美国政府官员表示，中国已向美国天然气投资约55亿美元，该国称也欢迎美国加大投资中国的能源产业。

中美官员会谈能源事宜，属于本周在华盛顿举行的为期两天的美中战略与经济对话的一部分。

“中方对于能够学习美国技术和投资美国，并从中获益，有着非常强烈的兴趣，”这名匿名美国官员对记者表示。

“双方认同，互相投资能源市场双方都可受益，并承诺将努力解决投资方面可能存在的障碍。”

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