BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC)announced on Monday it will maintain anti-subsidy duties on imports of US broiler chicken products for another five years starting August 30.

The decision was the result of an investigation launched after the previous five-year duties expired last year. The investigation found that the domestic industry could be harmed if the duties stopped.

In a statement on the MOC website, the ministry said anti-subsidy duties on the imports will be set at about 4 percent.

Disputes over broiler chickens -- a breed of chicken that reaches slaughter at a young age -- have been a major source of contention in the often tense trade relations between the world's two largest economies.

China imposed anti-dumping duties on chicken products imported from the United States in September 2010, claiming that chickens were subsidized in the Unites States and then dumped on the Chinese market at below market prices.