BEIJING - China will conduct talks on an investment pact with the European Union "at its own pace", its foreign ministry said on Friday, raising doubts about whether a deal can be sealed by year-end.
An EU official said last week that a deal was close following a push from Germany, which holds the EU presidency until the end of the year and is the biggest European exporter to China.China will "conduct talks at its own pace on the premise of safeguarding its security and developmental interests", foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing on Friday.
Wang's latest comments were also a walk-back from a day earlier. On Thursday, Wang had denied that talks were stuck due to China making more demands on nuclear energy. "As I understand, talks are goings smoothly," he had said.