OMAHA, United States, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger on Sunday praised China's system and its leadership, saying that thanks to these advantages, the Chinese people are unleashing their tremendous potential.

China has well over a billion people who have just started to realize their potential, said Buffett at a press conference one day after Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting that attracted more than 30,000 people around the world.

When taking a question from Xinhua, Buffett, CEO of investment giant Berkshire Hathaway, and Vice President Munger praised China's system and leadership.

Buffett said that China's system was not allowing the potential of people to be released for centuries but it is no longer the case now.

Munger said: "I always thought the Chinese people had enormous potential for huge and rapid progress... China is setting a new record for advancement of civilization at a very rapid rate. It's fun to watch."

Buffett and Munger took each question from selected media groups while casually eating snack and drinking coke in front of a roomful of attentive journalists.

Both Buffett and Munger expressed their appreciation for China's leadership.

Speaking of the governing communist party, Munger said: "there are engineers rising in this party."

Munger said Chinese leaders are very pragmatic leaders and later quoted one of the most famous sayings of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping: "I don't care what color the cat is as long as it catches mice."

For the two investment gurus, China's system, talents and efficiency have made the country a good place to invest.

"China's opened up in terms of economic opportunities," said Buffett.

Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., the utility division of Berkshire Hathaway, is holding 9.9 percent of the stakes of Chinese auto maker BYD.