"A newspaper headline at the conclusion of the recent SED meeting said that it did not 'resolve major issues.' This, in my opinion, misses the point," said Paulson in his remarks prepared for delivery at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"The dialogue is an on-going process," said Paulson. "To get results, we must build relationships, and take smaller, deliberate steps forward together to create momentum for greater change."

"Through candid discussions, we will ease, rather than increase, tensions and get to solutions and action," said the U.S. Treasure chief, who co-chaired the SED with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi last month.

He said both countries made notable progress on civil aviation, energy and the environment, and financial services through the dialogue.

"We announced a new air services agreement that will make it easier, cheaper, and more convenient to fly people and to ship goods between the U.S. and China," he said.

"Through the SED, we also collaborated on a series of policies to help promote energy security and protect the environment, which will affect not only our two countries but nations around the world," he added.

Paulson also emphasized the importance of the dialogue, saying the mechanism is important because both countries "must get this relationship right."

"An open, honest economic relationship between our two countries is important to the future of the global economy," he said.