German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today the China-U.S. trade war was affecting the whole world and she hoped it would be resolved soon.

Merkel made the remarks as she began a two-day official visit to China.

'We hope that there will be a solution in the trade dispute with the United States since it affects everybody' in the world, Merkel told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (right) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) converse while sitting in front their respective national flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing today

U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel laugh during a meeting at the G7 summit in France last month. Merkel's government has objects to Trump's trade tactics

Merkel's comments came after the U.S. and China agreed to meet in Washington next month to discuss ending the tariff battle.

A date has been scheduled for 'early October' and diplomats from both countries will meet for the first time since the war's recent escalation, according to a statement from China's Commerce Ministry.

Merkel also said today that the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents should be protected.

China's top trade negotiator Liu He (pictured in May) this week said that Beijing firmly opposed a tariff war during a meeting with U.S. senators. The two country's diplomats have agreed to meet in Washington next month to discuss ending the tariff battle, according to Beijing

She added that a solution to the Chinese city's political crisis can only be garnered through dialogue while violence should be avoided.

'I indicated during the talks that the rights and freedoms agreed upon in Hong Kong's Basic Law should be safeguarded,' Merkel said during a joint news briefing with Li.

The Basic Law is Hong Kong's de facto constitution, which promises the semi-autonomous Chinese city certain democratic rights not allowed in the mainland, such as uncensored press and people's right to protest.

Merkel added that political dialogue - not violence - is the path toward a resolution.

Merkel will dine with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the evening.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (central) walk past honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing today

People supporting the Hong Kong anti-government movement urge Merkel to 'stand with Hong Kong' and back the demonstrations during a peaceful rally in Berlin on Thursday

The German leader faces the challenge of balancing human rights concerns and economic discussions with one of Germany's largest trading partners.

China was Germany's biggest single trading partner last year, with trade totaling 199 billion euros (£178 billion, $218 billion). The relationship is important to Europe's largest economy, particularly as Germany is considered likely to enter a technical recession in the current quarter.

Germany long had amicable relations with Beijing because its exporters ran a surplus supplying Chinese factories with equipment and components. But those ties increasingly are strained over German complaints about market access and Chinese technology policy.

Merkel will dine with Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday evening. The two leaders are seen shaking hands during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 24, 2018

Students attend a school boycott rally at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on September 2

Li told reporters during the joint briefing that German companies are welcome in China and will have a relatively easier time getting things approved because the two countries have a foundation of trust.

He and Merkel discussed collaboration on artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles, as well as intellectual property rights and reducing export controls, Li said.

Beijing has previously tried without success to recruit Germany as an ally in its tariff war with President Donald Trump. While Merkel's government has echoed U.S. complaints, it objects to Trump's tactics, which he has also used against Europe.

US-China trade tensions have also impacted German businesses, Merkel said, adding that China and Germany hope to serve as models for defending multilateral trade relationships.

Trump has warned that if he is re-elected, China will face a tougher U.S. negotiating stance. He is pictured here with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 leaders summit in June

Merkel is in Beijing with a high-ranking German business delegation that includes executives in the auto, financial services and transport industries.

In recent years, German companies have been unhappy about being barred from acquiring most Chinese assets at a time when China's companies have been on a global buying spree.

The economic ties make it harder for Merkel to satisfy a U.S. diplomat and activists who have urged her to raise human rights issues such as China's treatment of ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as the three months of pro-democracy demonstrations that have roiled Hong Kong.

Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, said Thursday that China's 'willful disregard of its commitments' to Hong Kong and human rights violations in Xinjiang show that its ruling Communist Party 'stands against the values Germany cherishes'.

'We hope that Chancellor Merkel will take a firm stance for the values that unified Germany after the fall of Communism: human rights, democracy and the rule of law,' he said.

Hong Kong activists also warned Merkel about dealing with 'authoritarian and unjust regimes' in an open letter published this week in Germany's Bild newspaper.

Protesters cover one eye in reference to an injured demonstrator in Hong Kong as they stand outside the Chancellery in Berlin on Thursday to urge Merkel to show her support to the city

Hong Kong activists also warned Merkel about dealing with 'authoritarian and unjust regimes' in an open letter published this week in Germany's Bild newspaper

On the question of what Merkel might say about Hong Kong, a senior German official said the talks with Xi and Li will be conducted 'comprehensively in terms of thematic breadth, and open and friendly in terms of tone - with a readiness to express criticism where we think things are worthy of criticism.'

The official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity in line with department rules.

China has bristled at what it calls foreign interference from countries such as the U.S. and the UK on political tumult in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese city where activists have staged three months of mass protests calling for democratic reforms and an independent enquiry into police conduct.

On Friday, Merkel will also visit German engineering company ZF Fredrichshafen in Beijing.

She travels Saturday to Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, where she will inaugurate the plant expansion at German auto supplier Webasto and speak at Wuhan University.