China has said it regrets a US decision to haul Beijing before the WTO over its industrial subsidies, calling Washington's move a "pity."
"It's a pity for the United States to seek [the] consultation process at the World Trade Organization," a Chinese commerce ministry spokesman said late on Saturday, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The spokesman said authorities in Beijing would be "deliberating" the US case, adding that the two sides had "kept bilateral contact over the issue all along."
The US filed its complaint with the Geneva-based trade body on Friday, with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab saying the time for negotiations had been "exhausted."
Her office said tax breaks and tariff exemptions encourage Chinese companies to buy Chinese-made equipment rather than imports, while financial incentives help firms to export their goods.
State subsidies for steel, paper, information technology and other industries allow China to export its goods on the cheap and so prevent US companies from competing fairly, both at home and in third markets, it said.
It is the third time that the US has taken China before the WTO since Beijing joined the organization in 2001, but is the first case to cover such a wide array of complaints.
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