HONG KONG: China has lodged a case against the United States with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over US import duties, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Monday.

The United States began imposing 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday - including footwear, smart watches and flat-panel televisions - as China began imposing new duties on US crude, the latest escalation in a bruising trade war.

The latest tariffs actions violated the consensus reached by leaders of China and the US in a meeting in Osaka, the commerce ministry said in the statement. China will firmly defend its legal rights in accordance with WTO rules, it said.