German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz has urged Chinese President, Xi Jinping to back efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In their first phone call since he took office last month, Merz told Xi about “the common efforts of Europe and the EU to bring about a quick ceasefire in Ukraine.”
German Government Spokesman, Stefan Kornelius said after both leaders “underlined their readiness to work together as partners to overcome global challenges.”
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.”
China is considered Russia’s most important ally, as Moscow has found itself increasingly isolated by Western nations who have been providing Kyiv with financial and military support in its defence against the full-scale Russian invasion launched over three years ago.
US efforts under President Donald Trump to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a halt in fighting have so far not produced any significant results.
Diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine conflict 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.
During two hours of talks in Istanbul on May 16, 2025, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, in what would be their biggest such swap.
Apart from that step, the meeting delivered no significant breakthrough.
However, the Kremlin said on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that new peace talks with Ukraine had “yet to be agreed,” disputing reports the two nations would soon hold negotiations at the Vatican.
Putin said earlier this week that Moscow would “propose and is ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for “a possible future peace treaty.”
He has effectively rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has accepted. He has linked the possibility to a halt in Ukraine’s mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms shipments to Kyiv as part of a comprehensive settlement.
European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his bigger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.
Meanwhile, Russia is readying a summer offensive to capture more Ukrainian land, Ukrainian government and military analysts say.
Putin visited the Kursk region on Tuesday for the first time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area last month. Kyiv officials denied the claim.
Putin said that Russian forces have orders to create a “security buffer zone” along the border.
That would help prevent Ukraine from striking areas inside Russia with artillery, Putin told a government meeting, but he gave no details of where the proposed buffer zone would be or how far it would stretch.
Merz, Xi Discuss Economic Relations
Merz and Xi also discussed economic relations, with the German Chancellor noting the importance of fair competition.
The two leaders agreed to “soon continue the direct exchange, to develop German-Chinese cooperation further.”
Xi and Merz highlighted the importance of their countries’ relationship as both China and Europe are trying to tackle uncertainty caused by US tariff policies.
“China is willing to work with Germany to open a new chapter in their all-round strategic partnership, to lead China-EU relations toward new development, and to contribute to the stable growth of the global
Xi Jinping
Europe and China are among the biggest trading partners of the U.S. and have deep trading ties with each other. Chinese-German trade volume alone accounted for around 246 billion euros ($279 billion) last year, according to official figures.
Germany has in recent years sought a difficult balance in relations with China, seen by Berlin as both a strategic rival and a vital trading partner whose giant market has buoyed Germany’s large export-driven economy.
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