Germany says own review of Aixtron sale to Chinese firm ongoing

Germany's Economy Ministry declined to comment on Friday on a report that U.S. President Barack Obama was poised to block the sale of chip maker Aixtron to a Chinese firm and said its own independent review is ongoing.

"We don't comment on reviews by U.S. authorities in principle. The Economy Ministry's review is ongoing and I have no new information," a spokesman told a regular government news conference in Berlin.

The spokesman stressed the German government's review of the proposed sale of Aixtron to China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) was independent to the U.S. scrutiny of the deal.

"If the American process should be closed it would have no effect on the German review," he added.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Victoria Bryan)