Visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday in Beijing that the US side thinks "it is a positive factor that Chinese economy is growing."

"China's very rapid economic growth and its obvious impact on the international economy is something that everybody is watching and that everybody is concerned about," Rice told a press conference.

China's economy "is growing so rapidly and having such impact that people want to be assured that it is going to be encapsulated in a role-based approach to the international economy," she said.

"It is why the US supported Chinese accession to the WTO (World Trade Organization), and it is why we had extensive discussions about the need to protect intellectual property right," she said, adding that it is also why it has been important to look at the trading balances.

Rice said she had spent a good deal of time in Beijing talking about the economy with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and Vice Premier Wu Yi earlier.

"I just think that as we go forward, and as the Chinese economy is becoming such a big factor, it is really critical that people know that there is an understanding in China of the responsibility that comes with that kind of rapid economic growth, because it is going to have a big impact on everybody and on everybody's economy," she added.