Visiting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged China Wednesday to improve market access for European Union firms seeking to invest there.

He was speaking after talks with his counterpart Wang Yi, a week before an EU-China summit in Brussels.

The EU has repeatedly pressed for better access to the China market.

"China and the European Union should work toward agreements that would make progress on market access," Gabriel said.

"It is about equality of market access on all sides... Greater market access will bring many benefits to the lives of ordinary people."

Beijing has its own concerns, saying that the EU's refusal to grant China "market economy" status is an example of covert protectionism and double standards by the West.

But Gabriel, who was accompanied by an economic delegation, expressed optimism that China would welcome the involvement of German automakers in its electric car market.

"The treatment of German automakers is likely to become fairer here than originally planned," he told reporters earlier on Wednesday, adding that potential agreements have yet to be finalised.

Specifically, Gabriel said he wants the Volkswagen Group to be treated as a local supplier in tenders and approvals, in the same way as Chinese companies.

Last year China had 310,000 electric and hybrid vehicles on its roads and this number is expected to rise to two million in 2020, according to official plans.

China overtook the United States last year to become Germany's biggest trading partner for the first time, official data showed.

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Hanoi (AFP) May 22, 2017
Asian trade ministers met Monday to hammer out the terms of a massive China-led pact that has taken centre stage as Washington pulls away from regional free trade deals in favour of bilateral agreements. The 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is poised to become the largest free trade agreement in the world, covering about half of its population. It notably exc ... read more

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