HONG KONG - China has lodged a case against the United States with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. import duties, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Monday.

    The United States began imposing 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday - including footwear, smart watches and flat-panel televisions - as China began imposing new duties on U.S. crude, the latest escalation in a bruising trade war.

    The latest tariffs actions violated the consensus reached by leaders of China and the U.S. in a meeting in Osaka, the commerce ministry said in the statement. China will firmly defend its legal rights in accordance with WTO rules, it said.