BEIJING - China will the protect the legitimate rights of its tire makers, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday in response to a recent trade probe by the United States.

On Friday, the US Department of Commerce launched an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into tires for trucks and buses imported from China.

The decision was groundless and China expressed serious concerns, said the MOC in a statement. The charges were filed regardless of opposition from some key tire makers in the United States and the domestic tire companies are earning a heathy profit.

Since 2007, the United States has launched a number of trade remedy investigations against Chinese tire, which have severely hindered normal exports and the industry, said the MOC.

The Chinese government will pay close attention to the case and will protect the legitimate rights of Chinese tire makers according to the World Trade Organization rules.

The MOC also said that China has always been against any abuse of trade remedy measures and hopes the United States can cautiously deal with the case to maintain healthy trade cooperation in related sector between the two countries.