'US pursuing bilateral investment treaties with India, China'

WASHINGTON: Seeking to expand investment across the board, the US is pursuing bilateral investment treaties with India and China, Vice President Joe Biden has said.


Biden said the United States is coming back from the deepest recession it's had since the Great Depression.

"We have added back $ 16 trillion in wealth, much of which had been lost to our population as a consequence of the crisis. We've had -- from the time we've taken office, the fifth month in -- every month, consecutive months of job growth. Not as strong some months as we wanted, but consecutive," he said.

"That's why we're also pursuing new bilateral investment treaties with China, as well as India," Biden said in his remarks in Rio de Janeiro, where he is travelling.

Biden noted that foundations of the US economy are stronger than ever and the country will become self-reliant to fulfill its energy requirements.

"We will be energy independent. We have not only tapped and found, but learned how to extract 100 years of shale gas, natural gas that can meet our needs totally if we chose to do that over time," he said.

"The best research and universities are still located in our hemisphere and in our country. The most vibrant startups and venture capital markets still exist for all the problems we have had," Biden said in Rio De Janeiro.

"Like Brazilians, we are optimistic about our future, and we are certain of our capacity, as you are," he said in his address, noting that the US and Brazil represent two of the largest, most innovative, dynamic economies in the world on Thursday.

"It is true both of us can continue to prosper whether or not we deepen our economic relations. But imagine, just imagine what these two dynamic economies could do with greater trade and investment for our people, for the hemisphere, for the world," Biden said.

"We're moving past old alignments, leaving behind old suspicions and building new relationships," Biden said.