BRITAIN’S Prince William practiced a spot of sports diplomacy in China yesterday, striding onto the football pitch at a Shanghai high school.

Wearing a dark blue suit, he stopped a stray ball, tapped it twice with his shoe before giving it a confident kick on the artificial turf.

His trip to China, the highest-profile royal visitor since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, has been laden with symbolism as Britain attempts to improve diplomatic relations with China. On Monday, William reached out to President Xi Jinping, telling him: “I also gather you’re quite a football fan.”