体坛英语新闻：FC Barcelona confirm visit to China as part of 2019 Asian tour

MADRID, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Liga Santander Champions FC Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that the club will tour China and Japan in the summer of 2019.

The club confirmed the news of its first Asian tour since playing a friendly in Qatar in December 2016 and visits to Thailand and Malaysia in the summer of 2013, on its official website.

Although there is still no news of the cities where they will play, the club highlights that it opened a permanent office in Hong Kong in September 2013 and that "China and Japan are two of the world's ten most strategically important countries and Barca is the most followed and beloved club among football fans in the region."

Barca says the tour "reaffirms the club's commitment to the Asian market, where it has 11 regional partners, three global partners (Konami, Oppo and Milo) and its main partner, Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce company presided by Hiroshi Mikitani."

However, they insist they are "not only looking to do business, but also to seek new fans and build their loyalty," and highlight that the club is "currently engaged in such projects as Mission Hills, in the Chinese city of Haikou on the island of Hainan, which includes a Barca Experience featuring an interactive museum, store and sports bar, as well as a Barca Academy Pro," while the club now has "fifteen schools around the Asia-Pacific region."