China has vowed to take the necessary steps to protect the legitimate rights of Chinese companies following anti-dumping measures taken by the European Union. 
The remarks came after Friday's decision by the European Commission to levy anti-dumping duties on stainless steel pipe products manufactured by Chinese businesses for a five-year period, with duties ranging between 30.7% and 64.9%. 
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that the move by the European Commission violated World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and China was highly concerned about trade protectionism by the European Union in the iron and steel sector, state news agency (Xinhua) reported. 
The European Commission in its investigation disregarded facts and materials provided by Chinese companies, continued to use the "unfair and unreasonable" surrogate country approach, seriously affecting Chinese companies' interests, it said.