The Chinese government has filed a complaint against Canada with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over tariffs and quotas on imports of steel and aluminum.
It follows an announcement last month by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney that the country will introduce a tariff rate quota for countries with which it has free trade agreements in order to protect its domestic industries.
This will see a 50 percent tariff applied to products from countries that surpass 2024 import volumes and additional tariffs of 25 percent on imports from all countries containing steel melted and poured in China.
It follows complaints from the metals industry that other countries are diverting products to the Canadian market in order to avoid tariffs imposed on imports to the US.
Mr Carney said at the time: "These measures will ensure Canadian steel producers are more competitive by protecting them against trade diversion resulting from a fast-changing global environment for steel."
Huzaif Qaisar, spokesman for the Canadian trade ministry, told Reuters that the measures are a "direct response to China's over capacity and non-market behavior" in the sector and are consistent with international trade rules.
He added that Canada is calling for joint meetings with China to address the WTO complaint and raise its concerns about cheap steel and aluminum imports.
Elsewhere, China has also prolonged an investigation into imports of dairy products from the EU, as part of a long-running trade dispute between the two territories.
China's Ministry of Commerce cited the complexity of the case, which is looking at alleged subsidies provided by the EU to producers of cheese, milk and cream products, as it extended its probe by a further six months.