Berlin, April 17: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose meeting with the Dalai Lama caused a chill in relations with China last year, called Thursday for continued dialogue with Beijing over Tibet's status.

"Dialogue is indicated," Merkel told national public television broadcaster ZDF.

The Dalai Lama's call for Tibetan cultural autonomy was legitimate, she added.

But she also stressed that Germany stood by its one-China policy and did not support independence for the Himalayan territory.

Merkel's September meeting with the Tibetan religious leader put severe strain on German-Chinese relations that was ended only in January this year after intense diplomatic activity.