China on Thursday urged the US to complain to the World Trade Organization instead of accusing Beijing of illegal practices.

Reiterating the country’s commitment to WTO regulations, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said that if Washington was sure about the alleged violations, they should complain to the WTO.

Wang presented a report by the Chinese government consisting of a brief history of China’s membership of the WTO, which it joined in 2001, which claimed that Beijing had strictly adhered to its obligations as member and substantially opened its markets to the world, Efe reported.

The Minister said that “unilateral” measures imposed by the US government on Chinese products did not fit in with the WTO framework.

The report also claimed that China had fulfilled all its commitments regarding reducing duties on import of foreign products and has increasingly opened different sectors of the economy to foreign investment.

The report is part of Beijing’s counter-offensive against the US amid a trade dispute, which strained bilateral relations in recent weeks, leading to fears of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Apart from imposing import tariffs on products from a number of countries – aimed at reducing the enormous trade deficit – Washington has announced a plan to restrict Chinese investment in US tech companies in order to fight alleged intellectual property theft.

Commerce ministry spokesperson Gao Feng had said earlier on Thursday that the restrictions were counterproductive and Beijing was ready to take measures to defend its interests.