Beijing said on Wednesday it firmly opposed a US probe into China's trade practices in the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, accusing it of being "full of false accusations".

The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced earlier that it was launching the investigation in response to a recent petition by five US unions.

China's commerce ministry hit back, saying the probe was "full of false accusations, misinterpreting normal trade and investment activities as harming US national security and corporate interests, and blaming China for its own industrial problems".

"China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it," the ministry said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden has been urging a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium that currently exist under Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing "unfair competition".

The so-called Section 301 investigation was the primary tool the Trump administration used in the trade war with China to justify tariffs.

"The US provides hundreds of billions of dollars in discriminatory subsidies to its own industries, but accuses China of adopting so-called 'non-market practices'," Beijing's commerce ministry said.

"In fact, the development of China's industries is the result of enterprises' technological innovation and active participation in market competition," it said, adding that "the US accusations simply have no leg to stand on".

"China will pay close attention to the progress of the investigation and will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests," the statement said.