BRUSSELS -- China's trade investigation of wine imports from Europe is not retaliation against European Union's decision to impose punitive tariffs on China's solar panels, a spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU said Thursday.

"China has long been exercising restraint in adopting trade remedy measures despite of clear evidence for the EU dumping and subsidizing certain exports to China," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The investigation launched by the Ministry of Commerce of China is in response to requests and complaints from Chinese wine producers, the spokesperson said.

"The decision complies with the World Trade Organization rules and China's anti-dumping and countervailing regulations. Such regular investigation should not be regarded as retaliation," the spokesperson stressed.

The statement came a day after China decided to begin an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into wines imported from the EU.

China's wine producers filed a petition to the ministry last year, calling for probes into the EU's dumping of wine that received unfair government subsidies and was damaging China's wine industry, according to the ministry Wednesday.

The MOC said China has always been cautious about the use of trade remedy measures, and the ministry has observed that wine imports from the EU has risen at a high speed in recent years and will carry out a strict investigation according to relevant laws.