Speaking on a panel with non-governmental organizations pushing for more social and environmentally-friendly policies from the world's leading economies, Merkel said the U.S.is a key G-20 partner and Trump is welcome at the summit she'll host in the port city of Hamburg on July 7-8.
Addressing a crowd of high-ranking business officials in the grandiose surroundings of Berlin's concert hall on the historic Gendarmenmarkt Square, Merkel also said she would push for talks over a free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States to be resumed.
President Donald Trump has pulled the US out of a trade agreement with Pacific nations.
She said some trade contracts with Africa were "not right".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Pope Francis encouraged her to work to preserve the Paris climate accord despite the USA withdrawal and shared her aim to "bring down walls", and not build them.
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"The danger in the departure negotiations with Britain is that we don't focus enough on our own future", Merkel said at the annual meeting of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), a lobbying group.
She added: "In view of the new American administration that isn't easy, but we must make the effort".
Merkel also said she deeply regretted Trump's decision to quit the Paris climate pact, which she described as an "ecological must".
German direct investments in the US are nearly 10 times higher than USA companies' investments in Germany, she added - "a lot of jobs in the United States depend on this, but this is also a contribution to world trade because, of course, there are also exports from the United States".
"We can certainly think about a euro budget if it is clear that we really strengthen structures and do things that make sense", Merkel added.
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