China's Ministry of Commerce said it had found six US policies that support or subsidize the US renewable energy industry that run counter to World Trade Organization rules, instituted trade barriers and distorted normal trade between the world's two largest economies, said a statement on the ministry's website on Thursday.

The ministry's preliminary investigation said that the policies and measures were subsidies prohibited under WTO rules.

The investigation started last November following requests from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products and the China New Energy Chamber of Commerce.

The US Department of Commerce announced on May 17 that it will impose preliminary antidumping duties on Chinese solar power equipment, from 31 percent to 250 percent, after it ruled that Chinese manufacturers sold products below cost.

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