FRANKFURT, Germany -- The German government is reportedly ready to stop a Chinese company from buying a local precision machinery manufacturer, as U.S. and European regulators step up efforts to prevent Chinese businesses from gaining access to military and aerospace technologies.

Germany's economy ministry, which has been reviewing the proposed acquisition of Leifeld Metal Spinning, has judged that the deal would threaten national security, according to local business news service WirtschaftsWoche. The cabinet will likely officially decide to block the acquisition on Wednesday.

Based in the western town of Ahlen, Leifeld has about 200 workers and builds precision machinery for metalworking. Its technology has been used in NASA's rockets. German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that the party seeking the acquisition is Yantai Taihai, which has operations related to nuclear power.

German rules require a screening by the economy ministry of any plan for a foreign company to buy 25% or more of a business operating in fields such as defense and information security. The regulations were expanded in July 2017 to include investment in infrastructure and other key sectors by companies based outside the European Union or the European Free Trade Association.

The 2016 acquisition of German industrial robot builder Kuka by China's Midea Group is believed to be behind the rule change, as the deal led to heated debate over security and the transfer of technology.

There have been calls for even tougher regulations, with some arguing that screening should kick in even in cases where companies intend to buy smaller than 25% stakes.

Last Friday, the economy ministry said it had instructed German state-owned development bank KfW to acquire a 20% stake in power network operator 50Hertz after State Grid Corp. of China sought to buy 20% of the Berlin-based company from an Australian investment fund.

Nikkei assistant writer Kyra Jaeger contributed to this report