China's foreign minister on Thursday called on the international community to oppose the United States' recent trade moves, saying they threatened global economic growth.

Addressing a news conference in Moscow, Wang Yi condemned a move by President Donald Trump's administration to slap tariffs on a list of Chinese goods and said the world should stand up to Washington over what he called its unilateral moves.

"The world community must together resist these sorts of unilateral actions and breaking of the rules, must jointly push for global economic growth and together help bring some common sense to those who think they can do anything they like," he said.

If the United States believes it could benefit from protectionism it is making a mistake, he said after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

"If the US is using the sanctions stick, then they've got the wrong idea," Wang Yi said.

An escalating confrontation between Washington and Beijing has been inching closer to an all-out trade war since China on Wednesday threatened retaliation against key US exports over looming US tariffs on more than 1,000 Chinese goods.

"Our counter-measures were necessary and sufficient," Wang Yi said, adding they were "a legitimate defence of our interests and our rights".

China launches WTO challenge against US intellectual property tariffs
Geneva (AFP) April 5, 2018 - China has launched a World Trade Organization challenge against Washington's proposal to slap $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports over Beijing's alleged theft of intellectual property and technology, documents published Thursday showed.

In the text released by the WTO, China's delegation requested "consultations" with Washington "concerning the proposed tariffs (and) measures that the United States accords to certain goods in various sectors including machinery, electronics, etc. originating in China."

A "request for consultations" is the first step in a full blown legal challenge at the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body.

If the United States rejects the request, China will likely renew it, a move that would automatically send the case to formal arbitration, triggering a long legal battle between the world's top two economies at the WTO's internal court.

President Donald Trump's administration announced the proposed tariffs last month.

While the list of Chinese imports to be targeted has not been finalised and the measures have not yet come into force, Beijing has wasted no time in responding.

It has unveiled plans for painful import duties targeting politically-sensitive US exports, including soybeans, aircraft and autos, to retaliate against the looming tariffs.

In its WTO filing, China argued that the measures are "inconsistent" with multiple articles of international trade law to which the United States has agreed.

Beijing is expected to launch a separate WTO challenge against Washington's tariffs on steel and aluminium, but the documents in that case have not yet been filed with the Geneva-based organisation.

Meanwhile, the United States has initiated its own WTO case against China over what Washington describes as Beijing's intellectual property breaches, including a failure to respect foreign patent holders.

Tit-for-tat disputes at the WTO may prove to be just one battleground in a broader trade confrontation between the two powers, with fears rising of an all out trade war.

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China slaps retaliatory tariffs on 128 US imports
Beijing (AFP) April 2, 2018
China on Monday imposed new tariffs on 128 US imports worth $3 billion, including fruits and pork, in retaliation to US duties on steel and aluminium, fuelling fears of a trade war. Beijing's move, which the Xinhua news agency said was decided by the custom tariffs commission of the State Council, follows weeks of heated rhetoric and threats between the world's two biggest economies. President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against China's massive trade surplus over the United States, promis ... read more