The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the latest set of sanctions ran counter to the consensus reached by leaders of China and the US at a meeting in Osaka, Japan. The Ministry said China will follow WTO rules, but will also defend its legitimate rights and interests.

China’s suit came after the China-US trade war further escalated as the US imposed fresh tariffs of 15 percent on 125 billion USD of Chinese imports starting midnight on Sunday. The same day, China applied new tariffs ranging from 5 to 10 percent on 75 billion USD of US goods as a retaliation.