BERLIN: Bayern Munich strengthened their Chinese ties on Thursday with the opening of a second football academy in Shenzhen. “We want to reinforce and increase the visibility of our values in China,” club spokesman Jörg Wacker said, adding the German champions had more training centres for China in the pipeline. Last week Bayern inaugurated a new office in Shanghai as part of their quest to widen their Far East fan base. One of the Shanghai bureau’s main tasks will be to organise Bayern’s tour of China at the end of this season. The Bavarian club claims to have 136 million fans in China. They have already opened a school in Qinqdao where in February they ran their first training sessions for school teachers and coaches.