China and US in new trade dispute

The US has accused China of keeping the yuan artificially high

China has launched an "anti-dumping and anti-subsidy" probe into imports of some US car products and chicken meat.

The Commerce Ministry said there were concerns the US imports had "dealt a blow to domestic industries".

It comes a day after the US imposed tariffs on Chinese tyre imports in order "to remedy a market disruption caused by a surge in tyre imports".

The case is the latest in a series of recent trade disputes between China and the US.

"In line with national laws and World Trade Organisation rules, the commerce ministry has started an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy examination of some imported US car products and chicken meat," the Chinese authorities said in a statement.

WHAT IS DUMPING? In international trade, dumping refers to exporting goods below cost or at a price below that charged at home

China has called the tyre move by US President Barack Obama "protectionist".

The White House announced duties of an additional 35% on Chinese-made tyres for one year, followed by tariffs of 30% and 25% in the following two years.

While Washington has long accused China of trade protectionism, the US is also unhappy at the high volume of Chinese exports to America, accusing Beijing of deliberately keeping the yuan undervalued to make its exports artificially cheap.

The US trade deficit with China totalled $103bn (£63bn) in the first half of 2009, down 13% from the same period last year.