BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday that it hoped the United States would be cautious with the use of restrictive trade measures after a US trade agency claimed that imported solar products could hurt domestic manufacturers.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) said Friday that it had determined that increasing crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell imports could threaten the domestic industry, and its investigation would move to a remedy phase.

Wang Hejun, head of the MOC's trade remedy and investigation bureau, said the decision was made in spite of strong opposition from inside and outside the United States and regardless of the fact that several trade remedy measures had already been made to provide sufficient protection for the domestic solar industry.

The ITC claim will do nothing to facilitate the sound and balanced development of the US solar industry, but only increase uncertainties on global solar products trading, Wang said.

"The free circulation of solar products helps with reduction of green house gas emissions and improves the global climate. Protecting free trade in this field is a shared responsibility of all countries and is in the common interests of all parties," he said.

Wang expressed his hope that US investigators would abide by World Trade Organization rules and use restrictive trade measures cautiously.