BERLIN, April 10 (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of German

firms feel they encounter unfair competition from local firms in

China and are outgunned in terms of access to local officials,

information and licences, a survey by the German Chamber of

Commerce in China said on Wednesday.

German firms feel they still have the edge when it comes to

the quality of their products and the ability to innovate, but

feel under price pressure from their Chinese rivals in a way

that eats into their profits, the survey said.

Only 7% of German firms felt they had better access to local

authorities, compared to 58% believing that Chinese firms had

better access. Some 8% felt they had better access to obtaining

licences while 30% thought Chinese firms had better access.

The survey was published ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's

trip to China this week, with companies pressing for what they

characterise as fairer access to the Chinese market and Europe

worried about Chinese excess capacity flooding its market.

The trip is Scholz's first to China since Berlin drew up a

China strategy last year that urged a "de-risking" to reduce

economic exposure to the world's second-largest economy.

Beijing in March made a renewed pledge to treat foreign

companies in the same way as their domestic peers in a bid to

attract more investment, but the move was treated sceptically by

German businesses who said they wanted to see concrete steps.

Germany has become increasingly wary of tethering itself to

a country it has described as both a partner and a systemic

rival, in particular after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022

laid bare Europe's reliance on Russian gas shipments.

Scholz will take with him chief executives from the likes of

Siemens and Mercedes, underscoring

Beijing's continued importance.

Wednesday's survey also showed that 95% of German firms felt

that increased competition from Chinese companies was affecting

their business, including 70% who felt it was eating into their

market share.

A separate survey this week showed that the German economy

is still highly dependent on China for a number of products and

raw materials despite efforts to diversify.