Xi and Merkel attend friendly football match

（Photo Credit: Xinhua）

Chinese President Xi Jinping met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday before the G20 summit taking place on Friday. The two leaders watched a friendly football match between two youth teams from China and Germany.

China signed a deal with Germany to boost cooperation in youth football last November. According to the deal, the German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich would help China to develop its football training system.

After that the deal was signed, the 26-time champions started to build football training centers in Chinese cities like Qingdao and Shenzhen. The club also formed a strategic partnership with the Center for Development of Sports Industry of Tsinghua University, to promote China’s sports education.

Xi explained that China and Germany are deepening cooperation in football. He believes that the cooperation will continue on the long-term in order to improve the Chinese football industry. The president also insisted that China is willing to strengthen all-round exchanges and collaboration with Germany.

Source: news.cri.cn

Proofread by Linda Barouk