BEIJING - Chinese exporters have suffered a total of 20 trade remedy probes initiated by the United States in 2016, an 81.1 percent increase year on year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The 11 anti-dumping and nine anti-subsidy investigations involved $3.7 billion, up 131 percent from 2015, the MOC said.

Recently, the US published a series of trade remedy rulings involving Chinese products, including truck and bus tyres as well as imports of Chinese stainless steel sheet and strip.

China suffered 140 trade remedy measures from the United States as of the end of 2016, including 102 anti-dumping and 38 anti-subsidy measures, according to MOC data.

"Given that the trade scale between China and the US is huge, it is normal that trade frictions will occur," said Wang Hejun, head of the MOC's trade remedy and investigation bureau. "However, it is noticeable that the US is imposing high taxes on Chinese imports and many of its measures are against WTO rules."

Wang said that China hoped to work with the United States to solve trade friction through negotiation within the WTO framework for a win-win relationship.

Last year, Chinese exporters suffered a record 119 trade remedy probes, initiated by 27 countries or regions, a 36.8 percent increase year on year.

"Trade friction is normally sporadic and played under the WTO rules, resulting from normal international trade activities, while trade wars lay aside trade rules and usually involving large trade sums," Wang said. "We do not want trade wars..., but we will be well-prepared for and are capable of defending our own rights and interests."