This post was originally published on South China Morning Post.
Beijing hopes Germany will continue China-friendly approach after Armin Laschet wins Christian Democrat Union leadership race
The choice of Armin Laschet as leader of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has been seen as a promising development by Beijing, observers say, raising hopes that he will continue to adopt a pragmatic approach to China if he succeeds her as chancellor.While the choice of the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia does not guarantee that he will be the centre-right’s candidate for chancellor at the election later this year, diplomatic observers in China said Beijing saw it as a…