BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Commerce initiated an anti-discrimination investigation into U.S. trade policy over chips on Saturday, as well as a separate investigation into dumping, a day ahead of a new round of U.S.-China trade talks in Spain. The first investigation would examine whether Washington had discriminated against Chinese companies in its policies on trade in chips. The second would look into suspected dumping of imports of some U.S.

analog chips used in devices such as hearing aids, Wi-Fi routers and temperature sensors. The ministry said in a statement that the United States had imposed a series of restrictions on China over chips in recent years, including trade discrimination investigations and export controls. Such "protectionist" practices are suspected of discriminating against China and are intended to curb and suppress China's development of high-tech industries such as advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence, it added. TALKS TO START IN MADRID A delegation to be led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is due to kick off a new round of dialogue with the United States from September 14-17 in Madrid, opens new tab.

The commerce ministry has said the two sides will discuss economic and trade issues such as U.S. tariffs, the "abuse" of export controls and TikTok. In a separate statement on the talks on Saturday it questioned Washington's policies. "What is the U.S.'s intention in imposing sanctions on Chinese companies at this time?" the ministry said.

"China urges the U.S. to immediately correct its erroneous practices and cease its unwarranted suppression of Chinese companies. China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies." On Friday, the United States added 32 entities, 23 of them in China, to a commerce department restricted trade list. They included two Chinese firms accused of acquiring U.S.

chipmaking equipment for China's top chipmaker SMIC.