Germany’s favour with China still intact after Merkel’s election victory – even with a new coalition and far-right uprising
Europe's longest serving leader has visited the Asian nation 10 times and views the country as not only an enormous market for German goods but an important partner in an increasingly uncertain world
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected to a fourth term in the country’s general election on Sunday despite suffering heavy losses to a new far-right party that is virulently opposed to refugees and migrants.
But Europe’s longest-serving leader, who has come to rely increasingly on China as an important ally on global issues such as climate change, said she does not expect to have any difficulty forming a new government by the end of the year with two smaller coalition partners.
Merkel, 63, has already visited China 10 times during her 12 years in power and views the country as not only an enormous market for German goods but an important partner in an increasingly uncertain world, following the shock of Donald Trump’s election as US President and Britain’s exit from the European Union.
And with much of her election campaign focused on the country’s economic success, analysts expect her new coalition government to maintain its favour towards China.
“Germany’s foreign policies will remain basically the same under the new government,” said Thomas Jaeger, a political scientist at Cologne University. “They won’t change anything towards the United States. And they won’t change anything towards China because all the parties in the next government are interested in free trade and a cooperative relationship with China. There won’t be any major shifts in foreign, trade or politics.”