Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that these can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and other tech capabilities.

Beijing has accused Washington of protectionism, vowing to defend its interests and urging Washington to halt its "wrong practices".

And on Thursday China's commerce ministry said domestic firms had accused the US administration of President Joe Biden of having "provided substantial subsidies to the chip sector".

This, they said, gave "US companies an unfair competitive advantage".

"Companies have been exporting related mature-process chip products to China at low prices, harming the legitimate interests of the domestic industry," a ministry spokesperson said.

"The concerns of China's domestic industry are reasonable, and they have the right to request a trade remedy investigation," they said.

Beijing did not say when the probe would be launched, nor how long it would take.

- Chip for tat -

But its launch comes a day after the United States unveiled further export controls on advanced computing semiconductors, increasing due diligence requirements for businesses as it seeks to prevent diversion of tech to China despite existing restrictions.

The move also followed US officials announcing fresh curbs on AI chip exports, seeking to make it harder for Beijing to access the advanced technology.

With the new rules, foundries and packaging companies that want to export certain advanced chips face broader license requirements unless they meet several conditions.

The rules also aim to enhance reporting for transactions involving newer customers "who may pose a heightened risk of diversion," said the US commerce department.

Thursday's probe focuses on US subsidies of "mature" semiconductors, also known as "legacy" chips.

While cutting-edge chips are typically used in critical technologies with sensitive military and defence uses, "legacy" chips are used in household items like broadband and medical devices, according to the CSIS think tank.