The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), a national foreign trade and investment promotion agency, has called on the United States to immediately stop a Section 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors and return to the rules-based multilateral trading system.

The U.S. Section 301 investigation was unreasonable and groundless, the CCPIT said in statement, noting that there is no causal relationship between the decline of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and Chinese laws, policies and practices.

In line with the need for market development, Chinese maritime, logistics and shipbuilding enterprises actively carried out technological innovation, participated in market competition, promoted the development of global trade and made important contributions to the stable and safe operation of the global supply chain, the CCPIT said.