German camera maker Leica is teaming up with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi after ending a seven-year partnership with Huawei Technologies Co, whose handset business has been hamstrung by US sanctions. The new strategic cooperation will see Leica and Xiaomi jointly develop an “imaging flagship smartphone”, slated to be launched in July, according to an announcement on Monday. “This cooperation will provide a strong boost to Xiaomi’s imaging strategy,” said Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, chairman and chief executive. Huawei’s partnership with Leica, which started in 2015 and resulted in their first phone a year later, ended on March 31, the Shenzhen-based…