U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Wednesday he hopes the upcoming Strategic Economic Dialogue will help the United States and China understand each other better.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Paulson warned against the growing trend of protectionism in the United States.

"I am a very strong believer that trade benefits us greatly and isolation and protectionism is going to hurt our standards of living and hurt people at all income levels, particularly the average workers," he said.

Some U.S. lawmakers, citing the huge deficit with China, have vowed to impose economic sanctions on many Chinese exports.

The United States and China will hold the second meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington on May 23 and 24. The first meeting of the Dialogue was held in Beijing last December.

Paulson said both the United States and China want tangible results from the talks that can serve as "signposts along the way. "

"We are focused on long-term goals while simultaneously looking for short-term results," he added.

"Now I happen to think it is a big positive that the Chinese would be here when Congress is in full session because they will have an opportunity," said Paulson.