HONG KONG — The Chinese government announced on Monday that it had filed a case with the World Trade Organization accusing some European Union member countries of violating free trade rules with policies that favored the purchase of solar energy equipment produced in Europe.

The W.T.O. case is the latest in a series of retaliatory moves by China in response to efforts by the European Union and the United States to limit imports of Chinese solar panels. European and United States officials have accused China of dumping solar panels in foreign markets below the cost of manufacturing them and of subsidizing their manufacture — accusations that China has denied.

In a statement posted late Monday on its Web site, the Chinese commerce ministry did not identify the countries or the specific equipment covered by its trade complaint. But the ministry contended that the countries’ policies violated W.T.O. rules requiring that goods from all W.T.O. member countries be treated equally, without discrimination in favor of locally produced goods.

The ministry also contended that the policies violated a free trade rule that countries not impose policies that have the effect of subsidizing domestic production as a substitution for imports.