China hopes the United States will respect the World Trade Organization panel rulings and WTO rules to correct practices that violate relevant regulations as soon as possible, and meet halfway with other WTO members, including China, to safeguard the multilateral trading system, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday in an online statement.

"China appreciates the objective and fair rulings of the WTO panel," the spokesperson said.

The spokesman's remarks came after a WTO panel report regarding the case brought by China to challenge the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, or DS544, ruled on Friday that the tariffs do not qualify for the national security exception and violate WTO rules.

Since 2018, the US has selectively imposed additional tariffs on steel and aluminum products from some WTO members under the so-called national security concerns, which, as a matter of fact, is an action pursuing unilateralism and protectionism, and severely damages the ruled-based multilateral trading system, the spokesperson said.

The US deeds are not only opposed by many WTO members, but also are widely criticized within the US, the spokesperson said, adding what happened have showed that security exception clause is not a safe bet for unilateralism and protectionism.