NEW YORK -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called upon China and the United States to step up efforts to promote economic and trade ties between the two countries.

The statement was made when Li met with US President Barack Obama in New York on the sidelines of the ongoing 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly that opened earlier last week.

Economic and trade cooperation is the "cornerstone" and "propeller" of China-US relations, Li said.

The two sides should work together to ensure an early conclusion of negotiations on a China-US bilateral investment treaty (BIT), expand market access to each other, and create better business environment and better cooperation prospect for enterprises from both sides, the premier said.

The two sides should also properly handle economic and trade frictions to prevent bilateral economic and trade ties from suffering unnecessary distractions, he added.

Meanwhile, the premier urged the US side to relax restrictions on high-tech exports to China.

For his part, Obama said economic relations are the stabilizing factor of US-China ties.

The US president added that the US side supports China's reform process, hoping the two sides make further progress in BIT negotiations.