当地时间7月25日中午11点07分，中国男足选拔队抵达日本爱知县丰田公园体育场进行东亚杯第二轮中、日比赛后的身体恢复训练。与以往训练前三言两句作叮嘱不同，主教练扬科维奇在本次训练开始前进行了足足5分钟讲话。
A concept photo of currencies and financial market Illustration: VCG
The designation of Deutsche Bank, a key and influential bank in Europe, to serve as the yuan-clearing bank will greatly facilitate and expand the use of the yuan in the EU market, providing more impetus to broader China-EU economic and trade ties, a Chinese analyst said on Tuesday.
The People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, announced on Monday that it had decided to authorize Deutsche Bank to serve as the yuan-clearing bank in Frankfurt, Germany, based on a memorandum of understanding with the Deutsche Bundesbank.
The move came as China-EU trade and economic ties continue to deepen and bilateral trade continues to expand, despite recent restrictions imposed by the European Commission.
In a statement sent to the Global Times on Monday, Deutsche Bank said that following the appointment by the PBC, it will facilitate direct end-to-end processing, clearing and settlement services for cross-border yuan transactions for European financial institutions and businesses, acting as a local bridge to China's payment systems.
Deutsche Bank, a global systemically important bank as well as the world's largest euro-clearing bank, said that it is the first foreign bank in Europe to receive this designation.
"Securing yuan-clearing capability in Europe reinforces our role as a trusted global clearing partner and our long-standing support for yuan internationalization. It strengthens China-Europe financial connectivity and enhances our ability to support clients' cross-border trade and investment flows with greater choice and flexibility," Alexander von zur Muehlen, CEO of Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Germany at Deutsche Bank, said in the statement.
Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday that while a number of Chinese banks are already performing yuan-clearing functions in the EU, the addition of Deutsche Bank, with its deep roots in the local market, carries great significance.
"Banks have different client bases, and Deutsche Bank has many European companies as its customers. With the appointment, these market participants enjoy a far greater degree of facilitation and ease in tapping yuan use cases," said the professor.
Companies and financial institutions can also avoid risks of foreign exchange losses as they can now directly choose yuan-euro settlement and bypass the use of a third currency, the expert said, noting that China-EU trade and investment ties will be one step closer with a local clearing bank coming onboard.
Tian Lihui, dean of the Institute of Financial Development at Nankai University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the latest development, some 12 years after the first-yuan clearing bank form a Chinese bank was set up in Frankfurt, marked a milestone as the yuan-clearing system in Europe has evolved from a model where "Chinese entities handle clearing for Europeans" to one where "Europeans handle yuan-clearing themselves."
The decision by one of Europe's largest domestic banks to integrate into the yuan-clearing system signals that China-Europe financial cooperation is moving beyond the shallow level of facilitating trade settlements into the more substantial level of jointly building financial infrastructure, Tian said.
For both China and Europe, this move represents a mutually beneficial institutional alignment, Tian said. "China gains greater depth in the offshore yuan market, while Europe secures an additional strategic option amid the contest of major currencies."
Brussels has recently been intensifying its use of restrictive trade and regulatory tools across sectors ranging from clean technologies to digital infrastructure and foreign subsidies, with many of these measures seen as directly affecting Chinese firms and adding strain to China-EU economic relations.
However, despite these moves, deepening industrial and supply chain integration and the strong complementarity of the two economies have continued to push bilateral trade to new highs. In the first seven months of 2026, China's total trade with the EU stood at 3.67 trillion yuan ($543.90 billion), up 9.5 percent year-on-year, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed on Friday.
As China-EU economic and trade ties continue to expand and deepen, demand for the yuan to be used in the EU market will rise proportionately, and more EU banks will likely be authorized to serve as yuan-clearing banks, Xi Junyang said.
Financial cooperation between the world's largest trading bloc and the largest trading nation has accelerated in recent months. In May, the PBC renewed and expanded a bilateral currency swap agreement with the National Bank of Serbia, increasing the value of the swap from 1.5 billion yuan to 5 billion yuan.
Almost 80 percent of the surveyed Chinese companies operating in the EU plan to expand their investment, even amid tightening policies in the EU and an increasingly complex business environment, according to a report published by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU and the China Economic Information Service in March. Fostering cooperation in emerging industries and cross-border finance have been highlighted by industry insiders as new growth drivers of China-EU trade and economic cooperation.
The yuan accounted for 3.1 percent of global payments in June, rising from 2.75 percent in the previous month, and ranking as the fifth most active currency for global payments by value, according to a report from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. In terms of trade finance, the yuan ranked second with a market share of 8 percent.
。针对球队逼平日本队后获得的外界肯定甚至赞誉，扬科维奇善意提醒弟子们说，“不要过多关注网上评论，那些评价可能比你们实际表现要好，希望你们保持谦卑，争取下一场赢下对手。
B | ” 在当地时间24日晚丰田体育场进行的东亚杯第二轮角逐中，中国男足选拔队凭借毅力与勇气以0比0逼和日本队。
C | 在国足连续4次无缘跻身世界杯正赛的背景下，这场平局十分难得，也鼓舞了中国男子足球队。
D | 按照惯例，扬科维奇会在训练开始前对弟子们作简单的提示。不过本次训练开始前，他却足足“聊”了5分钟。
E | 对于本场训练安排在中、日赛后第二天的上午，扬科维奇解释说：“因为我们第三轮比赛安排在2天后，赛前训练会安排在明天下午。如果我们今天留在酒店，就意味着将近48小时没有进行有球训练，这非常不利于大家肌肉恢复和血液循环。我知道现在天气炎热，但希望大家咬牙坚持，为了最后的胜利。” 对于前一晚的中、日比赛，扬科维奇坦言：“首先，你们（队员们）踢出了自己的气势，也很好地完成了教练提出的技战术要求。但这项赛事还没有结束，最后一轮的比赛对我们来说更为重要，因为我们需要在比赛中争取进球从而获得胜利。” 结合外界对国足选拔队在中、日比赛中顽强表现的褒扬，扬科维奇提醒弟子们说：“我想说的是，他们的评价可能比你们实际表现更好。我们还有2天备战时间，只有坚持到裁判员吹响最后一场比赛的结束哨音，你们才可以放松下来。所以现在你们需要保持谦卑的态度。” 也正是因为前一晚刚刚经历了一场消耗巨大的比赛，国足选拔队25日的训练强度并不大，全场训练仅持续不足1小时，且具体内容不涉及技战术安排。
F | 训练期间，教练组还安排了诸如“双人夹球跑”等趣味训练内容。
G | 扬科维奇告诉队员们说，“对于最后一场比赛，我们会正常备战。你们无须考虑对手，只要恢复好身体，然后全身心投入到训练中。
H | 记住，最后一场比赛非常重要，争取赢下来，然后享受假期。” 对手 最后一轮中国香港队主教练有“想法” 在东亚杯第二轮角逐中，中国男足选拔队以0比0逼平东道主球队日本队，场内发生的一切被坐在现场看台上的中国香港队主教练安德森尽收眼底。尽管中国香港队在此前两轮比赛中分别以0比6、0比3不敌日本队、韩国队。但在比赛中，中国香港队打出了一定的技战术内容，而中国男足选拔队次轮力保城门不失的表现实际也给了安德森相当的启示。中国香港队自然也希望能够在末轮与中国男足选拔队的比赛中终止不进球的尴尬，甚至争取更理想的战绩。算上本届赛事，中国香港队已经先后4次参加东亚杯赛(东亚四强赛)，但成绩不如人意。在本届东亚杯次轮不敌韩国队后，中国香港队在东亚杯赛场上已遭遇11连败。在2003年首届东亚杯赛期间，中国香港队曾以1比3不敌中国队，而当场比赛的进球是中国香港队迄今为止在东亚杯赛场上打入的唯一一粒入球。
I | 由于对阵日、韩两队的比赛已经结束，且净吞9弹，中国香港队破东亚杯进球荒的希望落在了27日与中国男足选拔队的末轮比赛上。在与日本队、韩国队交手过程中，中国香港队并没有主动龟缩防守，而是适时主动出击。对此安德森解释说，“与排名领先我们几十个身位的强队交锋，死守并不能避免失球。
J | 因此我们采取了高位逼压的战术，哪怕丢球，也要争取进球，比起取胜，目前球队如果能够取得面貌的改观，取得进步，才更有价值。” 中国男足选拔队逼和日本队的表现某种程度上也给予中国香港队以巨大的启示和鼓励。安德森对于率队在与中国男足选拔队比赛中取得“突破”，已有想法。本组文/本报记者 肖赧 供图/新华社
