City boss likes China's chances

But Soriano cautions that building a soccer power takes time, patience

LONDON - Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano doesn't doubt China has the potential to become a soccer power, but said it will take time and patience.

Following President Xi Jinping's visit to the UK in 2015, China Media Capital, headed by Shanghai's Li Ruigang, bought 13 percent of City's parent company City Football Group for $400 million, creating a close relationship between China and the club. "We are very lucky to have a Chinese investor," Soriano, who joined City in 2012, told Xinhua in an interview at the club's academy.