President Xi Jinping is a soccer fan and so is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and during the past three years, they have been making consistent efforts to expand their two countries' soccer partnership.

During his first trip to Germany as Chinese president in early 2014, Xi met young Chinese soccer players who had been trained in Germany. Andwhen Merkel visited China this June and September, she even discussed with Xi how they might explore more soccer cooperation.

The efforts have paid off. Last Friday, when Vice-Premier Liu Yandong visited Germany, the Chinese and German governments, their soccer associations, and leagues formerly entered into agreements to deepen cooperation. Merkel met the Chinese delegation and had up to one hour of talks with Liu, during which much interest was directed toward soccer.