"We consider these measures to be unwarranted and unjustified. We do acknowledge that these duties in the final determination are substantially lower than those proposed at the provisional stage," EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.

"Nonetheless, we remain firmly of the view that these investigations should not have happened in the first place, because in our assessment, the applications lacked sufficient evidence to justify the opening of such proceedings," he added.

Gill said the EU executive would now assess the duties' implications but vowed Brussels would defend the dairy sector's interests in line with international trade rules.

"We will look at what our options are from here, including the possibility of taking action at the World Trade Organization," Gill told reporters in Brussels.

Beijing said on Thursday the "anti-subsidy levies" will be imposed after an investigation found "certain dairy products originating from the EU were subsidised, causing substantial damage to the dairy industry in China.

The rates will be applied from Friday and range from 7.4 percent to 11.7 percent, down from the 21.9 percent to 42.7 percent China imposed in December.

They hit a range of items, including fresh and processed cheese, curd, blue cheese and some milk and cream, the Chinese commerce ministry said.