Merkel: Barriers to investing in China are still too high, need reciprocity

Any agreement between China and the European Union on investment has to involve reciprocity, with European companies enjoying the same freedoms to invest in China as China's do in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

She added that barriers to European companies wanting to invest in China were still too high.

"For the investment agreement with China we naturally expect reciprocity," she told a news conference in Brussels. "If the Chinese side gives no market access in certain areas, that will naturally mean that access to the European market will also be more restricted."