China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) about tariffs on solar panel imports that have been imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Trump approved steep tariffs on imported solar panel in January to protect American producers, drawing criticism from China, South Korea and even the US solar industry, which said the rising cost of imports would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.

“While taking protectionist measures against imported photovoltaic products, the US provided subsidies to domestically produced photovoltaics and other renewable energy products,” China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that Beijing filed a complaint with the WTO's dispute resolution mechanism on Tuesday to protect its interests, noting that the US measures were suspected of violating the rules of trade.

The Chinese ministry added that the US subsidies had given an unfair advantage to domestic companies and “damaged the legitimate rights and interests of China's renewable energy companies.”

Trade spat between China and the United States is escalating.

Washington imposed 25-percent duties on $34 billion worth of imports from China in early July.

Beijing, for its part, announced that its tit-for-tat duties had taken effect on $34 billion worth of US goods that included soybeans and electric vehicles.

China warned the US that it would have no choice but to take “necessary countermeasures” against Washington.