The sale of a club is a nervy time for a football fan. Will the new owner pump money into the team and propel it to unprecedented heights, or will they load the club with debt?
Having lived off his "feathery art" for more than four decades, attending to the needs of a select band of customers from his private workshop, Xiao Guangchun has finally decided to open a public workspace in a business center in eastern Beijing.
Chinese companies have invested in European football at a startling rate over the past 18 months, snapping up clubs across countries and divisions, prompting fans and industry players to wonder, "Why now? And how do the Chinese plan on succeeding in the volatile world of football investment?"
Despite the dramatic increase in Chinese investment in European football, and the huge interest in the game back home, few Chinese players have made their mark on the game here.
Among many people in England, the recent spate of football club acquisitions by Chinese investors has been warmly welcomed. The potential influx of cash that is perceived as being associated with such investments often prompts fans to look ahead to big-name signings by their clubs.
This month, Fininvest announced it had agreed to sell Italian football club AC Milan to a group of Chinese investors for 740 million euros ($825 million). Once the deal is complete, the Chinese buyers will control 99.93 percent in a club with a glorious history that stretches back more than a century.
Fears about China's economy are no longer center stage.
Some foreign analysts call Beijing's rejection of the recent ruling by the arbitral tribunal on matters of dispute in the South China Sea "China's first international test" as an emerging power. Some foreign media wonder whether a resurgent China will uphold the international order. Will fears of a "China threat" now increase?
Emerging industries such as auto manufacturing and pharmaceuticals carried the capital's gross domestic product growth in the first half of the year, amid weak performance from the real estate sector.
Anxiously, the world held its collective breath when China announced its 2016 second-quarter GDP growth rate, and then collectively exhaled with great relief, for it was 6.7 percent, the same as in the first quarter.
The Chinese government sees reform of investment and financing systems as one of the top priorities of supply-side structural reform, aiming to help solve the financing difficulties faced by the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
A friend of mine with a factory in Jiangsu province called me last month. In a sad voice, he told me his factory is closing and that he is now asking provincial and local administrations for a grace period to make arrangements for his workers and facilities.
Copyright 1995 - 2010 . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 20100000002731 
