China said Thursday that several US policies supporting the American renewable energy industries violate World Trade Organization rules.

Six different measures introduced by the US government in the renewable energy sector are in breach of WTO regulations, the ministry of commerce said in a statement on its website.

The announcement came a week after a US decision to slap hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cell makers.

The US Commerce Department imposed levies of between 31 and 250 percent on Chinese producers and exporters after saying it had found they sold solar cells in the United States at artificially low prices, known as dumping.

China's commerce ministry, which did not go into detail about which US policies it was referring to, said it had started an investigation of US practices last November at the request of local industry associations.