The United States launched more Section 337 investigations against China in the past five years than in the last 20 years, said a senior official of an industry chamber of commerce.

Section 337 investigations against Chinese companies increased sharply since 2006, said Wang Guiqing, deputy chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products at a seminar in Beijing on Monday.

According to statistics, the US launched 56 Section 337 investigations into Chinese companies between 2006 and 2010.

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Section 337 investigations target unfair acts and competition related to imported goods, including infringement of US patents or registered trademarks.

Wang said many of the cases were launched against Chinese mechanical and electrical products, the Economic Information Daily reported Tuesday.

In 2010 alone, the US conducted 56 such investigations, 18 of which were against Chinese firms.

Liu Danyang, vice director of the Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports under the Ministry of Commerce, said small- and medium-sized Chinese enterprises should improve their patent awareness and negotiation skills.

That would help protect companies' legitimate rights and interests in Section 337 investigations, the newspaper cited Liu as saying.