Germany's Merck KGaA says working towards independent supply chains in China

FRANKFURT, May 11 (Reuters) - German technology group Merck KGaA MRCG.DE said it was determined to invest further in China but would work towards supply chains in the country that rely less on trade with other amid rising tensions between China and Western powers.

"We are trying to limit, when it is reasonably possible, imports of important raw materials from other countries into China, especially from the U.S. into China," finance chief Marcus Kuhnert said in a media call on first-quarter results.

"At the same time we are creating a China-for-China approach, so that also the vast majority of products we are going to produce in China is actually supposed to be for the Chinese market," he added.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Matthias Williams)

((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))