China says it hopes EU investment deal negotiations come to early fruition

China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday he hopes negotiations on a China-EU investment deal can come to fruition at an early date.

Recently major progress has been achieved, Wang said, speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing.

China and the European Union are likely to clinch a deal this week that would give EU firms better access to the Chinese market, improve competition conditions and protect EU investment in China, European officials said on Monday.