US President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday slapping new 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, due to come into effect on March 12.

"The US move is essentially an act of trade protectionism," the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said in a statement published by state broadcaster CCTV.

"In the short term, the impact on (China's) steel exports is limited," the CISA said in the report.

"But in the long term, the US move could lead other countries to follow suit, thereby reducing (China's) steel export competitiveness," it added.

Despite being the world's top producer of steel, China last year accounted for only a small proportion of US steel imports.

But with demand slumping in the domestic construction sector, Chinese steel exports have surged, spurring concerns in Washington about overcapacity in foreign markets with harmful effects on US producers.

"From a medium- and long-term perspective, the (US) increase in tariffs will have an adverse impact on industrial and supply chains in the global steel industry, including the Chinese steel industry," CISA deputy secretary-general Zhang Longqiang said, according to CCTV.

Separately, Beijing's commerce ministry on Thursday denounced the tariffs as "typical unilateral and protectionist behaviour".

"Many countries have clearly expressed their opposition and there are also strong opposition voices within the United States," Chinese commerce ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian said in response to a question about the steel and aluminium tariffs at a press conference.

"China urges the United States to abandon its zero-sum mentality, correct its wrong practices (and) return to the correct track of the multilateral trading system," said He.

Washington should "work with other countries to resolve their respective concerns through equal consultations", she added.