U.S. rejection of an anti-dumping inquiry against China-made steel fasteners was "rational", a Chinese commerce official said Monday.

An unnamed official of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said the move by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) accorded with "market reality" and was "correct", as the products made by both countries had different target consumers, which would not encounter direct competition.

The ITC's move on Friday was a rare exception in the two countries' trade disputes as the U.S. agency nodded to all the other 22 inquiries in recent three years.

The official said China hoped the United States would honor its commitment made on the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, and stay away from protectionism and abuse of trade remedies.

The United States should make decisions according to the World Trade Organization rules and market reality with objectivity and justice, the official said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce launched dual investigations on Oct. 14 requested by the U.S. manufacturer Nucor Fastener, which alleged that the Chinese imports enjoy unfair price advantages.

Fastener is a hardware tool that puts together two or more objects.

China has suffered heavily from trade protectionism which has been rising after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, MOC spokesman Yao Jian told a forum Saturday.

Yao said 19 economies launched 88 probes into Chinese products in the first nine months, involving 10.2 billion U.S. dollars of export goods. The two figures were 29 percent and 125 percent respectively higher than the same period last year.

In the first nine months, the U.S. launched 14 probes into Chinese exports, with a total value of 5.84 billion U.S. dollars, soaring by 639 percent from a year earlier.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2009)