The WTO said that Beijing had requested that it initiate so-called dispute consultations with India, charging it was breaching international trade rules.

Beijing is challenging certain subsidies granted to India's solar sector as well as tariffs imposed by India on products such as phones or equipment for manufacturing flat screen display devices, according to the complaint dated on December 19 and circulated to WTO members on Tuesday.

"China said the measures in question include India's tariff treatment and certain measures that China said are contingent upon the use of domestic inputs and otherwise discriminate against Chinese imports," the WTO explained.

In the request, China charged that the Indian measures were "inconsistent with various provisions of the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures".

WTO consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation.

After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.