GENEVA, May 25: China signaled on Friday it will challenge anti-subsidy duties imposed by the United States on 22 products Washington deems to be unfairly subsidised by Beijing.

“On May 25 China brings 22 countervailing measures applied by the United States to the WTO dispute settlement body (DSB) and requests for consultation,” said a statement issued by China's Permanent Mission to World Trade Organisation.

The counterveiling measures at the centre of the dispute relate to 22 products “which affect China's export to the United States at $7.3 billion collectively,” the mission said.

The practice constitutes “the abuse of trade remedy measures which undermines the legitimate interests of China's enterprises,” it said, underlining its “firm opposition” to trade protectionism.

“China hopes that, through constructive consultation and communication under the DSU, the Unites States will correct its long-term wrongful practices in countervailing investigations and address China's concerns,” said the statement.

China's action marks the latest move in a series of trade rows between the global economic powers.

Beijing last week blasted a “protectionist” a US decision to slap hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cell makers.

It followed a US Commerce Department move to impose levies of between 31 and 250 percent on Chinese producers and exporters after saying it had found they sold solar cells in the United States at artificially low prices, known as dumping.

The US probe named Suntech Power and Trina Solar — another large producer — as key offenders, but said at least 59 other Chinese companies would also be hit with anti-dumping charges.—AFP