China-Germany ties under Merkel a model for Europe, may suffer after she leaves

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to children of Jinputao Primary School in Hefei, East China’s Anhui Province on October 30, 2015. Photo: CFP As German people’s “Mutti (Mummy),” and Europe’s “crisis manager,” Angela Merkel is stepping down from the post she has held for 16 years, making her the country’s second-longest-serving chancellor and the first chancellor to leave power of her own volition. Days before her leaving, several global surveys of her were overwhelmingly positive, which the CNBC called “a feat not often achieved by departing global leaders.” She has been a mainstay in Europe, guiding the continent through the…