A senior U.S. official on Tuesday called last week's China-U.S. Governors Forum "historic," as the inaugural meeting in Salt Lake City strengthens mutual understanding and opens the door for greater cooperation between local governments of the two countries.

Reta Jo Lewis, special representative for global intergovernmental affairs at the Department of State, told a Washington briefing that the forum, attended by four provincial chiefs from China and dozens of U.S. governors, will bring more opportunities for greater trade and investment on both sides of the Pacific.

This is "an opportunity as we saw for U.S. governors and Chinese provincial leaders to come together to talk about issues of mutual concern," said Lewis, noting that U.S. governors are scheduled for a reciprocal visit to China in the Fall.

China-U.S. Governors Forum was organized by Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the National Governors Association (NGA) of the United States. The two sides engaged in productive conversations over topics of trade, investment, energy, environment, education and youth cooperation.