BEIJING, March 5 -- China is highly concerned about frequent trade investigations by the United States into Chinese high-end steel products, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday in a statement.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into stainless steel products imported from China.

Similar probes into high-end steel products have caused significant impact on the interests of Chinese firms. China is gravely concerned about it, the statement said.

Though the World Trade Organization (WTO) allows its members to conduct trade remedy investigations, the WTO rules must be strictly followed and legitimate rights of concerned parties must be fully guaranteed, said the statement.

China hopes the United States will correct past practices that had violated the WTO rules and conduct investigations in an objective and fair way, it said.

The ministry said steel overcapacity is a global problem that needs to be solved with coordinated efforts from all sides. China has already taken substantial measures to curb excess capacity.

The ministry called for dialogues and negotiations as a solution to trade frictions. It also vowed to protect the legitimate rights of Chinese firms, according to the statement.