BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Monday urged India to exercise restraint and care in applying trade remedies against Chinese products, saying a failure to do so would severely affect trade ties.

The trade tensions between India and China, whose export falloff is hurting economic growth and employment, come amid a rise in trade protectionism as nations seek to weather the global downturn.

The World Trade Organization is gathering nations in a special meeting Monday to stem the rise of protectionism.

India has started 17 investigations into Chinese imports since October, restricted imports of Chinese steel, textiles and petrochemicals, and last month banned imports of Chinese toys for six months, Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said.

China is "seriously concerned that India has started so many trade-remedy investigations and imposed so many import restrictions against Chinese goods in such a short period of time," he said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.

China "hopes India will show care and restraint in using trade-remedy measures during this unusual period of severe challenges in the world economy," the statement cited Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan as telling India's ambassador Nirupama Rao. "Otherwise, this will create a severe impact on bilateral trade ties."

China also faces trade tensions with key export markets. In recent months, the U.S. has levied new tariffs on Chinese goods it contends are being dumped on the market, including mattress springs and graphite electrodes, used to conduct electricity in factory furnaces. The European Union has also slapped antidumping tariffs on imports of Chinese screws and bolts.

Earlier Monday, Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei said the Chinese government won't employ a "Buy China" policy to boost domestic demand.

The proposed U.S. stimulus package includes a "Buy American" provision. That provision initially required infrastructure projects funded under the U.S. program to buy supplies such as steel from U.S. producers. But the Senate voted to modify the provision to address concerns raised by President Barack Obama that it could place the U.S. in violation of some of its international trade obligations.

The revised provision, however, still bars steel imports from countries including China that aren't yet members of the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement.