China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction with the latest U.S. anti-dumping investigations into Chinese common alloy aluminum sheets exported to the country.

High-end aluminum alloy wheels produced at a mill in Zouping, Shandong province.  [Photo/China Daily]

"China is strongly dissatisfied with the trade protectionism tendency shown in the U.S. move," an MOC statement quoted Wang Hejun, head of the ministry's trade remedy and investigation bureau, as saying.

The U.S. Commerce Department Tuesday launched anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into Chinese common alloy aluminum sheets in a rare "self-initiated" tactic.

The move marks the first time in the past 25 years that the U.S. government has launched such an investigation without a request from a U.S. company or industry.

Such a tactic is "rare in the history of international trade," Wang said.

Chinese and U.S. aluminum industries are complementary and aluminum trade between the two countries is two-way, he said.

"It will hurt both Chinese and U.S. interests to artificially impede the normal order of bilateral aluminum trade," he warned.

A final decision on whether to impose punitive duties on Chinese aluminum products is still months away as self-initiated investigations follow the same processes as normal trade cases.

Wang said he hopes the United States will abide by the consensus reached by Chinese and U.S. leaders on economic and trade cooperation and meet China halfway to support healthy, stable development of bilateral economic ties.

China will take necessary measures to defend the rights of its own enterprises, he said. 

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