BEIJING - Vice-Premier Li Keqiang has called for the increased facilitation of trading and investing to aid the recovery of the global economy.

"Trade liberalization and investment facilitation are a good solution for tackling crises and promoting common development amid the complicated global economic and financial situation," Li told Gerard Mestrallet, chief executive officer of the French energy giant GDF Suez, during a Monday meeting in Beijing.

Li suggested that all countries should eliminate trade and investment barriers and joint hands to boost the world economy, according to a press release Xinhua received on Tuesday.

"China will, as before, encourage foreign business people to invest in China, especially in the fields concerning natural resources and energy efficiency," Li was quoted as saying.

He called on other countries, especially developed ones, to establish an open, fair and easy environment for Chinese investment.

Mestrallet is visiting China for the signing of an agreement with China's sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corp., worth 2.3 billion euros ($3.2 billion), as well as another deal with China's largest offshore oil producer, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).