The veteran German leader has suffered a number of shaking episodes over the summer at similar occasions which have required her to stand. More recently she has remained seated at such ceremonies both at home abroad. The 65-year-old is Europe’s longest serving leader after taking office in 2005.
But she stood down as the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union last year and announced she would not stand in the next national elections.
Ms Merkel has seen her hold on power diminish over the last two years thanks to a surge in support for far right parties over her handling of the 2015/16 migrant crisis which saw more than 1.1 million refugees arrive in Germany.
She began her two-day trip to Beijing by calling for a swift resolution to the China-US trade war which she said was affecting the whole world.
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Mrs Merkel said Germany was open for Chinese investment and welcomed all Chinese companies to invest in the country.
Mr Li said that China hopes Germany will accept more Chinese companies and loosen export rule for certain goods.
Germany holds the rotating EU presidency in 2020 when Mrs Merkel is planning an EU-China summit with a view to achieving a common European stance toward the world’s second-largest economy.
The summit would aim to counter what Berlin sees as China’s divide-and-rule approach to dealing with the European bloc.