A statement from Merz's office said he told Xi about "the common efforts of Europe and the EU to bring about a quick ceasefire in Ukraine" and that he urged China to "support these efforts".

Both leaders "underlined their readiness to work together as partners to overcome global challenges", Berlin said.

According to the official Chinese readout of the call, Xi called for "stable and predictable ties" between the two countries.

Xi also "pointed out that the world today is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, with the convergence of changes and chaos in the international situation".

Diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine conflict have stepped up in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding their first face-to-face talks in more than three years last week in Istanbul.

But the Kremlin said Thursday that new peace talks with Ukraine had "yet to be agreed," disputing reports the two nations would soon hold negotiations at the Vatican.

Merz also stressed the importance of "fair competition" between the world's third-biggest and second-biggest economies.

The two leaders "emphasised the importance of economic relations between Germany and China", the German government said.

China has long been a key export market for Germany but Chinese companies have emerged as rivals to traditional German manufacturing titans, including in the auto sector.

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