Criticizing the US government's recommended actions on steel and aluminum imports, China's Ministry of Commerce said Saturday that it would take necessary measures if the US' final decision hurts China's interests. 

The US Department of Commerce released reports last Friday on the investigations into national security from imports of steel and aluminum products, recommending President Donald Trump to restrict steel imports by implementing import tariffs and quotas. 

China said that the reports' conclusions were "completely groundless and unreflective of reality." Wang Hejun, head of the ministry's Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said that most of the steel that the US imports are mid- and low-end products. Many countries, including China, have proven to the US during the investigation that their exports did not damage US national security. 

China's steel exports into the US have been minimal. China was the 11th largest source of steel for the US in 2017, according to US Department of Commerce data. Imports from China fell for the third consecutive year in 2017 to 740,126 mt, accounting for 2% of the US' total steel imports. 

"The US has already implemented more than a hundred anti-dumping and countervailing measures on most steel and aluminum product imports, and has overly protected domestic products," the ministry said in a statement on its website. "It shouldn't use "national security" lightly as a reason to implement more measures." 

""National security" has a very broad scope and lacks a widely accepted definition, which lends it to easy abuse. If other countries followed the US in its footsteps, the international trade order will be seriously impacted," it said. 

President Trump has until April 11 to make the decision on the recommendations.