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China-UK relations
ChinaDiplomacy

With China’s Xi, Britain’s Starmer hopes gift of Manchester United match ball scores points

Reviving a familiar playbook, the British leader uses football to seek diplomatic headway during an official visit to Beijing

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Chinese President Xi Jinping’s enthusiasm for football was on display during a visit to Ireland’s Croke Park in 2012, when he was vice-president. Photo: Reuters
Liu Zhen
Chinese President Xi Jinping received a unique gift from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Beijing on Thursday: the official match ball from Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Arsenal, according to media reports.
Starmer is on an official visit to China, the first by a British leader since 2018 and while he is an ardent Arsenal fan, Xi is reportedly a supporter of Manchester United.
The gift linked two of the English Premier League’s most celebrated teams and was part of broader efforts to add warmth to Sino-British ties.

Xi is widely understood to be a football enthusiast and the Premier League has played a role in the bilateral relationship before.

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In 2015, during Xi’s state visit to Britain, then prime minister David Cameron took the Chinese leader to Manchester City’s training ground. A selfie featuring Xi, Cameron and Man City striker Sergio Aguero symbolised the start of a “golden era” of relations.

Passionate for the game since childhood, the Chinese leader has championed a “three-phase” vision for Chinese football: to qualify for, host and eventually win a World Cup.

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Although Chinese football has struggled to reach these goals, various world leaders have tried their hand at “football diplomacy” to find common ground with the Chinese president.

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