China, Bavaria seek to enhance teamwork
Updated: 2014-11-25 07:42
By Zhao Shengnan and Sun Xiaochen(China Daily USA)
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Premier receives soccer club's jersey as officials vow further cooperation
FC Bayern Munich unveiled its latest "signing" on Monday and set a goal of greater teamwork with China on and off the field as Premier Li Keqiang was presented with a jersey from the German soccer club by Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer.
As Li was given the No 8 jersey in Beijing, with his name on the back and signed by the team, Seehofer, the leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, said he hopes Bayern Munich will play in China next year, and help China to train soccer players so that one day both countries can meet in the World Cup finals.
Bayern Munich is a powerhouse in German soccer, and the team's performance is symbolic of the clout it wields in its home state of Bavaria in Europe's largest economy.
China hopes to enhance Sino-German sports cooperation, said Li, adding it will benefit the world - not only the two countries - if they combine their efforts both in the sporting arena and in other fields.
China is an important market for the soccer club, which is expected to tour the country next year as it seeks to extend its fan base.
Paul Breitner, a former star for Bayern Munich who accompanied Seehofer to China, said, "We will enter a cooperation agreement with Guangdong province," according to German media reports.
During a visit to Guangzhou last week, Seehofer highlighted the need for direct flights between the Guangdong provincial capital and the Bavarian capital of Munich. He also inaugurated a new trade mission on Saturday in Shenzhen. The liaison office is the second that Bavaria has opened in China, following one in Shandong province.
Sports cooperation and public exchanges were highlighted in an action plan on Sino-German cooperation for the next five to 10 years, which was released during Li's visit to Germany in October. According to the agreement, both countries will focus on youth, coach and referee training, as well as organize more friendly matches.
One long-term junior training plan, the Rainbow Bridge program, has involved about 400 Chinese boys and girls who honed their skills and played soccer at clinics in Beijing, Shanghai and Changchun, Jilin province, in October. The clinics were presided over by German club VfL Wolfsburg's youth coaches and retired German stars Jens Nowotny and Arne Friedrich.
Li highlighted China's ongoing reform and growth potential, saying the nation would like to strengthen cooperation with Bavaria, Germany's largest state.
Seehofer, who hosted Li in Munich in 2011, said China is on a correct development path and has made great progress. Bavaria looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in trade, culture and at local levels, and contributing to the development of Sino-German ties, he said.
The cooperation between China and Germany has boomed in recent years. Germany is China's largest trading partner in the European Union, while China is Germany's largest trading partner in Asia.
Contact the writers at zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn and sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn
Premier Li Keqiang is given a No 8 jersey of Bayern Munich by Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer in Beijing on Monday. Sheng Jiapeng / China News Service |
(China Daily USA 11/25/2014 page4)
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