"The Chinese side expresses regret that the EU, the United States and Canada have called for the establishment of an expert group," commerce ministry spokesman Chong Quan said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

"The administrative regulations on the import of automotive parts are aimed at preventing criminals from using the difference in import tariffs on entire cars and on auto parts to escape customs supervision and evade taxes."

The three plaintiffs claim that the tariff regime puts their car manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to local Chinese producers when they import spare parts.

Chong said the regulations and the tariff regime were put in place to protect the interests of consumers and insisted that they complied with WTO rules.

"We have tried again and again to find an acceptable negotiated solution to this issue and without Chinese engagement we have no alternative but to take this course of action," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said.

The issue marks a new point of trade conflict with Beijing after disputes in recent years over soaring Chinese clothes imports, shoe shipments and China's exchange rate policy.

According to the European Commission, China levies tariffs on specific combinations of imported car parts as though they were "complete vehicles" even when they do not make up a whole car.

China imposes an import duty of 25 percent on whole vehicles and only 10 percent on auto parts, which forces European manufacturers to source parts in China to get around the tariffs.

The European Commission says the treatment goes against not only WTO rules forbidding governments to force companies to source products locally but also breaks Beijing's commitments when China joined the free-trade body in 2001.

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