China's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about protectionism in the U.S. steel sector and urged the United States to strictly abide by World Trade Organization rules.

The ministry said on its website that "the U.S. steel sector has been in a state of overprotection," adding that this overprotection has made the U.S. sector uncompetitive.

As evidence, the ministry noted that the U.S. has already imposed 161 duties for trade remedies on steel products against other countries by the end of April.

The ministry said that the difficulties facing the global steel sector resulted from falling demand, and the growing trade protectionism from the U.S. will only intensify conflicts disputes without helping to solve problems.