China and Manchester's Match of the Day
Xi Jinping and David Cameron rub shoulders with football royalty in Manchester on the final day of the Chinese president's state visit. The president will tour a football academy to meet former players and watch a training match during the visit, which will also see the announcement of a new air route between China and Manchester and a series of investment deals.
Mr Xi will be joined by the Prime Minister on the visit to Manchester as David Cameron seeks to promote the Government's Northern Powerhouse agenda. During the visit to Manchester City's football academy, the two leaders will meet the team's former players Patrick Vieira and Mike Summerbee, and ex-Manchester United stars Gary Neville and Denis Law whose glittering career also involved spells at City. The president and Mr Cameron will also visit the National Football Museum where they will witness former City player and Chinese international Sun Jihai being inducted into the hall of fame.
The Prime Minister and president will attend a lunch at Manchester Town Hall, alongside more than 200 businesses, civic leaders and community representatives from across the north of England and China. Manchester has the third largest Chinatown in Europe and around 3,600 Chinese students living in the city. The two leaders will also visit Manchester Airport, where Hainan Airlines will announce a new route between the city and China, the first direct flight from the UK outside London.
The deal is estimated to provide a £50 million boost to the Manchester economy and open up links from China to northern England.