BEIJING - China on Thursday urged the United States to make a fair ruling on an anti-subsidy dispute about Chinese aluminum foil products.

The US Department of Commerce made a preliminary decision on Monday local time to slap hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese exporters and producers of aluminum foil.

There are no grounds to accuse China's downstream aluminum companies of benefiting from subsidies, and it is unreasonable to label Chinese raw aluminum and steam coal producers and commercial banks as public institutions, said Wang Hejun, head of the Ministry of Commerce trade remedy and investigation bureau.

The US Department of Commerce launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of aluminum foil from China in March in response to a request from the US Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group.

China is highly concerned that recent US investigations into Chinese aluminum products might have a major impact on aluminum foil trade and will offer relief to the US aluminum industry, Wang said.

China urges the United States to act prudently to avoid damaging economic relations between the two countries, Wang said.