SHANGHAI, Aug. 17 -- CHINA objects to an attempt by the United States to use the World Trade Organization to impose new obligations on the country to crack down on pirated goods, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.

Wang Xinpei, a ministry spokesman, said China very much regretted Washington's decision on Monday to press its complaints over intellectual property rights protection by requesting a formal case at the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body.

The US argues that slipshod Chinese rules have led to a booming industry in pirated American goods, including movies and software, costing American firms billions of dollars.

But Wang said China's IPR regulations are fully in line with the WTO's agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS.

"We oppose any WTO member imposing any obligations other than TRIPS on developing members via the dispute settlement mechanism," Wang told a news conference.

Washington launched its challenge four months ago.

According to a statement issued by the US Trade Representative's Office, China and the US met in June but failed to resolve their differences over the issue.

Wang said China had made many clarifications during the bilateral talks and had demonstrated "great sincerity."

A Chinese trade analyst doubted that the US would win the case.

"It's impossible for the WTO to force China to change its laws as the United States wants," said Zhang Hanlin, head of the WTO research institute at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics.

Meanwhile, China voiced regret yesterday over Canada's initiation of investigations into the alleged injurious dumping and subsidizing of seamless carbon or alloy steel oil and gas well casings imported from China.

Wang said the government regretted that the Canadian authorities treated China's iron and steel industry as a non-market-oriented industry and started investigations without adequate legal and factual support.

The investigations failed to comply with WTO regulations and to measure up to the Canadian criteria for investigation, said Wang.