TMTPOST -- China slammed the latest protectionist move by the Biden administration and vowed to take defensive measures following a new probe announced Monday.

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China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the Section 301 investigation into China's policies for the semiconductor industry launched by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) said on Monday.

The U.S. investigation has the obvious unilateral and protectionist tone, the spokesperson noted. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has already ruled that the U.S. government violated the WTO rules for its Section 301 tariffs on China, which aroused many WTO members’ opposition, and China has lodged serious representations to the US several times, the person said.

The new Section 301 investigation, opened out of Washington’s desire for suppression of China and domestic political needs, will disrupt and distort the global semiconductor industrial and supply chains, and harm the interests of U.S. businesses and consumers, the person warned.

The U.S. has provided substantial subsidies to its own chip industry through legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act, said the spokesperson,noting that U.S. semiconductor companies account for approximately 50 percent of the global market. In comparison, the person stated Chinese-made chips constitute just 1.3 percent of the U.S. market share, and Chinese chip exports to the United States are significantly lower than imports from the United States, citing a recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The spokesperson urged the United States to respect the facts and multilateral rules, and to cease its erroneous practices immediately. China will monitor the progress of the investigation closely and take all necessary measures to defend its own rights and interests resolutely, The person said.

Earlier Monday,United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the initiation of an investigation regarding China’s acts, policies, and practices related to targeting of the semiconductor industry for dominance,  under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

The investigation will initially focus on China’s manufacturing of foundational semiconductors (also known as legacy or mature node semiconductors), including to the extent that they are incorporated as components into downstream products for critical industries like defense, automotive, medical devices, aerospace, telecommunications, and power generation and the electrical grid, according to a statement of the USTR.  It said the investigation will also initially assess whether the impact of China’s acts, policies, and practices on the production of silicon carbide substrates (or other wafers used as inputs into semiconductor fabrication) contributes to any unreasonableness or discrimination or burden or restriction on U.S. commerce.

Evidence indicates that China seeks to dominate domestic and global markets in the semiconductor industry and undertakes extensive anticompetitive and non-market means, including setting and pursuing market share targets, to achieve indigenization and self-sufficiency, the USTR said in the statement. China’s acts, policies, and practices appear to have and to threaten detrimental impacts on the United States and other economies, undermining the competitiveness of American industry and workers, critical U.S. supply chains, and U.S. economic security, according to the USTR.

China “routinely engages in non-market policies and practices, as well as industrial targeting” of the chip industry, which allows Chinese firms “to significantly harm competition and create dangerous supply chain dependencies in foundational semiconductors,” the White House said in a statement.