Dr Merriden Varrall says the results for South Koreas presidential election will be welcomed in Beijing, arguing as follows:
Firstly, policymakers in China will be glad to know who they will be dealing with,
Additionally, President Moon has promised he will "review" the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defence (THAAD) system that has been a source of enormous tension in China, Dr Varrall said.
He argues that it is too early to say how far President Moon will go in reviewing THAAD, and whether the hopes of Beijing will be realised. But a lot will ride on Moon's approach.
He also indicates that President Moon's commitment to engaging with North Korea is more aligned with Beijing's own policies than Moon's predecessor, Park Geun-hye.
He explains that China has proffered a couple of policy options for how concerned countries can deal with North Korea, namely, the "double suspension" and the parallel track dialogue approaches and there is little evidence of a change in policy towards anything more hawkish.
Dr Merriden Varrall argues that China will certainly see the election of President Moon as an opportunity for international approaches to North Korea to be reset in a more friendly way, with the hope that doing so could ameliorate some of Kim Jong Un's existential angst and cool his ambitions for North Korea's nuclear program.
Dr Merriden Varrall is the director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute.
