China has expressed regret over a World Trade Organization ruling, which rejected a Chinese complaint against protectionist measures taken by the U.S. against Chinese tires.

The WTO ruled in favor of the U.S., which centered on a 2009 U.S. decision to impose punitive duties of 35 percent against Chinese tires, alleging damage to its own tire industry.

The Chinese Preferment Mission to the WTO says the U.S. decision was imposed only to accommodate the country's domestic political pressure.

It also says the punitive measure failed to help reduce U.S. tire imports, but had hurt China's legitimate trading interests. China is urging the U.S. to eradicate the safeguard measure, and maintain fair competition for Chinese exporters.