BEIJING - The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued a statement Thursday, urging its American counterpart to take heed of what enterprises have to say about a preliminary antidumping measure.

The US Commerce Department made a preliminary antidumping determination Wednesday regarding imports of washing machines from China.

In its preliminary results, the Commerce Department found an antidumping margin for washer imports from two joint ventures in China ranging from 49.88 percent to 111.09 percent.

An unnamed official from the MOC Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau disputed the method by which the US Commerce Department calculated its antidumping margins in this case, saying that it obviously did not tally with the facts as it used the surrogate cost of production method.

The MOC urged the US side to listen to the enterprises' plea earnestly and correct the wrong practices.

The large multinational corporations involved in this case will continue to speak for themselves through a legal approach, the MOC learned.

The official hoped both sides could address the concerns through dialogue and negotiations and avoid possible escalation of disputes.