Chinese President Xi Jinping gives a thumbs-up as he watches the football match in Berlin between youth teams from Zhidan in China's Shaanxi province and VfL Wolfsburg, Germany, March 29, 2014.The Chinese team lost to VfL Wolfsburg 0:2. [Photo/Xinhua]

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday watched a football game between Chinese kids and their German peers, encouraging more Chinese young people to play the sport.

"I have confidence in you, in your generation," Xi told the Chinese players at the halftime break of a friendship match with local kids from the Wolfsburg club.

"I hope you will become outstanding football players in the future," said Xi.

The Chinese president encouraged the Chinese players to, through their current training in Germany, set an example for other young players in China.

He added that he hoped more Chinese young people would devote themselves to football.

The Chinese team played a fierce game at the Olympic Stadium of Berlin while Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, along with some high-ranking Chinese officials, sat on the bleachers.

The 20 Chinese kids, all of them from Zhidan county in China's northwestern province of Shaanxi, are being trained in Berlin by their German coaches.

Xi arrived in the German capital on Friday morning, kicking off his state visit to the European country, the third leg of his ongoing Europe tour, which had taken him to the Netherlands and France. After Germany, he will travel to Belgium.