BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday said accusations of dumping by Chinese steel producers on the global market are groundless.

MOC spokesperson Shen Danyang made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on recent anti-dumping measures by some countries against Chinese steel imports.

Imposing restrictions on Chinese steel products cannot fundamentally solve overcapacity, which is the common problem confronted by the global steel industry as it undergoes restructuring, said Shen.

He said the continued price slump of iron ore imports, from 110 U.S. dollars per tonne in Jan.-Aug. of last year to around 63 U.S. dollars per tonne during the same period this year, has significantly reduced the cost of China's steel products.

China has always advocated solving steel trade disputes through dialogue and negotiations and encouraged cooperation among different countries to achieve win-win results, said the spokesperson.

Shen said China encourages domestic steel companies involved to actively participate in the litigation and defend their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with WTO rules.

Since late August, Pakistan, the United States, Turkey, and Malaysia have launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations over China-produced galvanized coil, cold-rolled plate, cold-rolled stainless steel, and cold-rolled coil, respectively.

The European Union has decided to impose a 24.4-percent to 25.3-percent tax rate on resources imported from the Chinese mainland. In addition, Australia and the EU have also been preparing for new investigations over trade remedies for steel products made in China.