SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A modern China with a huge population is an opportunity, not a threat, for the United States, China’s Ministry of Commerce reported commerce vice minister Wang Shouwen as saying on Saturday as trade talks were held in the city of Tianjin.

The talks, co-chaired by U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago, are the second this year involving the two officials and come amid trade tensions between the two powers.

China’s commerce ministry said earlier this week that the United States should lift all tariffs on Chinese goods, ahead of an announcement by the Biden administration on expected hikes in levies on Chinese-made items, including electric vehicles.

In a statement on Saturday the Chinese ministry said the two sides had conducted “professional, rational and pragmatic” talks on policy and business issues raised by the business communities of both countries.

It added that China was focused on expressing concerns about issues including U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, and said China was opposed to the implementation of trade and investment restrictions under the pretext of overcapacity.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)