BERLIN, June 19 (AFP) - Germany's president on Monday (Jun 19) urged Beijing and Washington to boost dialogue, as he hosted Premier Li Qiang at a time when China's policies on Russia, trade and human rights are receiving an increasingly hostile reception in the West.

Li, who was named China's prime minister in March, is on a two-nation visit which will also take him to France for a climate financing summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed the importance of ties between China and the United States for "global security and cooperation", his spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin wrote on Twitter after the German leader hosted Li for talks.

"He called for the strengthening of communication channels between both countries," she added, after months of US-China tensions.

Li in turn said China was ready to work with Germany to contribute to "global stability and prosperity", according to state media Xinhua.

Li's European tour came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on a high-stakes trip to Beijing, where a glimpse of optimism emerged with President Xi Jinping assessing that "some progress" was made.

Also on Monday, Foreign Minister Qin Gang - currently in China for Blinken's visit - called German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and urged cooperation, rather than confrontation, between Beijing and Berlin, Xinhua reported.

The United States and the European Union have cast an increasingly wary eye on China in recent months, and Li has made Germany his first stop abroad, anxious to bring the export giant onside again.

He and Chancellor Olaf Scholz will lead their cabinets for joint talks on Tuesday, but Germany's first national security strategy, published days ago, could set the tone at the meeting.