BERLIN, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping met here on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying his country supports the European Union (EU) to be "united, stable, prosperous and open."

Stressing that China and the EU are two important world powers and enjoy a comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said the more complicated the international situation is, the more significant the stable development of China-EU relations becomes.

Calling on China and the EU to build the partnerships of peace, growth, reform and civilization, Xi said he hopes China-Germany relations could play both leading and stabilizing roles, so as to maintain the high-level development of China-EU relations.

The Chinese president arrived in Berlin Tuesday for his second state visit to Germany. It is the second stop of Xi's ongoing European tour which also took him to Russia. During his stay in Germany, he will also travel to Hamburg to attend the G20 summit.