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As Chinese officials push for the creation of an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area at the APEC meetings, China's Ambassador to the US is dismissing suggestions the issue is a subject of contention between China and the U.S.

CRI's Washington correspondent He Fei has more.

Some US media say the FTAAP is just a way for China to tussle with the US over influence in the region and to compete for billions of dollars in trade. The Wall Street Journal says the US will attempt to block efforts by China to begin negotiations on the FTAAP during APEC.

However, the Chinese side is more positive on the long expected meeting. Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai says the two countries have been coordinating the issue for quite some time and both understand each other's position.

"I think China and US have found a feasible way to expand common interests and promote regional cooperation on APEC. I don't think that the two sides will have a major problem to that issue during the APEC meetings."

The ambassador added that it was actually the US that initiated the idea of launching the FTAAP within the APEC framework, not China, but unfortunately many forget that now.

According to Cui, there are signs of trade protectionism in the Asia-Pacific region, which is harmful to multilateral trade and economic integration in the region.

"As we are hosting the event, we should take the opportunity to push forward the process of the FTA in the Asia-Pacific region. And this is in favor of all nations in the region, this is our common demand. And the real intention for China to do it is to avoid trade barriers in the region, and this is a good example of the continuity of the APEC mechanism."

According to Cui, China has high expectations for the APEC meetings as well as the bilateral meeting with the US.

In addition to formal meetings, the two countries' leaders will also have a chance to have a more intimate and in-depth dialogue, similar to their meeting at Sunnylands but featuring Chinese elements this time. He believes this will leave a clear, positive and firm foot print on the history of Sino-US relations.

For CRI, I'm He Fei in Washington.