China said Friday that it regrets that U.S. companies have asked for anti-dumping probes against Chinese solar power products and insisted that its policies on solar energy conform with World Trade Organization rules.

China "regrets this action by U.S. industry," the Commerce ministry said in a statement to Dow Jones Newswires.

The escalating China-U.S. clean energy spat follows increasing pressure from Washington on China to address concerns about unfair trade practices, including Internet restrictions and food-safety rules that hinder market access.

"The U.S. has no reason to criticize other countries' efforts to improve humanity's environment," the ministry said, adding that any anti-dumping steps in the solar power sector taken by the U.S. would create a "lose-lose" situation.

The ministry hopes the U.S. will avoid trade protectionist policies, it said.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama, in a television interview, said he believed Chinese energy companies had engaged in "questionable" trade practices, lending support to the claims of solar firms who are asking the U.S. to impose tariffs on imported solar panels from China .

"We have seen a lot of questionable competitive practices coming out of China when it comes to the clean energy space," Obama said in an interview with a television station in Portland , Oregon .

Oregon is home to the U.S. unit of SolarWorld AG (SWV.XE), which along with six other solar-panel makers, has accused Chinese firms of "dumping" solar panels on the U.S. market at prices lower than the cost of production in order to gain market share.

"If Chinese solar panels cannot be exported to the U.S. due to the U.S. adopting anti-dumping measures, it will strongly affect U.S. equipment and raw material exports to China ," the Commerce ministry said.

Separately, the Chinese Foreign ministry urged the U.S. use more "rational" policies to address bilateral trade disputes.

Developing the solar energy industry is a focus for the Chinese government to address climate change and energy security, and China hopes the U.S. will boost bilateral cooperation on solar energy, spokesman Hong Lei told a news conference.

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