Opinion | Germany’s football diplomacy delights beaming Xi Jinping as Chinese president and Angela Merkel watch kids’ match in Berlin
China’s president remains a massive football fan, but it seems clear that youth development and commitment to training, rather than sky-high transfer fees and foreign takeovers, is the way to his heart
Anybody wondering if football had fallen down China’s list of priorities after recent restrictions on player transfers and the purchase of foreign clubs only needed to look to Berlin on Wednesday.
It’s rare to see Xi Jinping cracking a smile. China’s president normally has his lips tightly pursed when he’s snapped on state visits. Witness his trip to Hong Kong last week, when he seemed to be catching a whiff of a bad smell (independence?) everywhere he went.
But as he and German chancellor Angela Merkel watched a group of Chinese and German kids play football, Xi was positively ebullient by his standards, beaming from the sidelines and urging Angela to pay attention.
China’s state media ensured the images and footage received major prominence, with reports of the Germany diplomatic visit giving the football match at least the same space devoted to the customary gift of pandas.
“You are the future of the Chinese and German football,” Xi told the children, according to state media Xinhua.
