Pressure from trade frictions has continued to increase this year for Chinese enterprises, while further challenges are expected in the future, a commerce official said.

Li Chenggang, head of the Department of Treaty and Law under the Ministry of Commerce, said at a Tuesday Forum that with the global economy remaining weak, the number of trade disputes has increased and the disputes will likely apply to more areas in the future.

In the first five months of this year, 10 applications to investigate Chinese enterprises were filed in the United States under Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the U.S. to shield domestic industries from unfair competition.

To fight protectionism, China has formally challenged U.S. countervailing duties on 22 categories of Chinese products in late May, accusing the United States of abusing World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in a case involving products worth 7.29 billion U.S. dollars.

More disputes within the WTO framework are expected between China and the United States or the EU, Li said.

Issues related to market access, WTO rules, the exchange rate of the yuan and intellectual property rights will continue to create challenges, he added.