During his tour of City’s academy, Mr Xi said that sport was an important part of China-UK exchanges and that China could learn from British football, Reuters reported.
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The president and his wife went from Buckingham Palace with David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn to pub lunch as Jinping aims to be seen as a “man of the people”.
“A partnership is also where you can have frank discussions about issues like the future of steel making, or cyber security or indeed human rights”.
Cameron accompanied Xi on his tour of Manchester on Friday as the United Kingdom government tries to promote investment in the post-industrial cities of northern England.
It is unclear whether Mr Xi had any say in which club he visits during his brief trip, with both the council’s leader Sir Richard Leese and chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein both City fans.
The state-of-the-art training facility includes a 7,000 capacity stadium and 16 football pitches that can cater for over 450 players.
Cameron said: “We are committed to rebalancing our economy and building a Northern Powerhouse”.
Crowds waving Chinese flags have greeted Xi throughout his four-day state visit to Britain, outnumbering pro-Tibet and human rights protesters concerned about the British government’s lavish welcome for the Chinese leader.
According to the worldwide group Human Rights Watch, there is routine use of torture in Chinese jails.
In a China report for the British “FIRST” magazine alongside Queen Elizabeth, the Chinese president in his statement noted that the Chinese and British people share long histories and outstanding cultures, and are common in terms of welcoming new developments and changes that come with the times.
During President Xi’s visit, a vast number of commercial, cultural, and educational deals were signed, signaling the start of that era.
The Chinese state visit will also see Hainan Airlines announce the first direct flights from Manchester Airport to China – the first outside London.
A deal was also unveiled for the Chinese telecoms company Huawei to partner with the Manchester University laboratories that invented graphene, a form of carbon that is the world’s thinnest and most conductive material.
British police arrested a survivor of the Tiananmen Square massacre who lives in the United Kingdom and searched his home following a peaceful protest against Xi.
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The London police said that they had detained a man and two women to prevent a breach of the peace and then arrested them on suspicion of “conspiracy to commit threatening behavior”.
