Both sides were faced with the same challenges in their relations to China, said Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"China's aggressive state capitalism, its handling of currency issues, the question of whether we have a level playing field accessing each other's market, the protection of intellectual property, the unity of state and party," Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; editing by Thomas Seythal)