Despite widespread concern that bilateral relations between the world's two largest economies have been heading downhill lately, US officials and experts expressed their optimism that the upcoming sixth meeting of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) will help get things back on track.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will fly to China next week as President Barack Obama's special representatives to the S&ED, to be held in Beijing on July 9-10. They will be joined by their Chinese counterparts: State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Vice-Premier Wang Yang.

Describing the past year as one full of a number of events that have affected the bilateral relationship, Lew said on the economic side, there has been an important breakthrough in China's approach to the Bilateral Investment Treaty.