Xiangxin Wei: Meet Auxerre's exciting new Chinese talent
AJ Auxerre have continued their youthful recruitment drive with the arrival of Xiangxin Wei, one of the most highly-rated young players to emerge from China in recent years.
The versatile forward officially joined the club this summer after turning 18, completing a move agreed during the winter transfer window. He has signed a five-year contract with Auxerre and immediately joins Will Still's first-team squad for pre-season. While still relatively unknown to European audiences, Wei already arrives with an impressive reputation in his homeland.
Breaking records in China
Wei came through the academy at Meizhou Hakka, earning his senior debut earlier this year at just 16 years and 11 months, making him one of the youngest players ever to appear in the Chinese Super League.
Just weeks later, shortly after celebrating his 17th birthday, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the league's history, underlining why he had long been regarded as one of China's standout talents.
Despite his age, the attacker had already made 28 professional appearances before making the move to France. Standing at 1.88 metres, Wei possesses an intriguing blend of size, pace and technical quality.
Comfortable across the front line, he is known for his intelligent movement, strong dribbling ability and explosive acceleration, while his height also makes him a dangerous aerial threat.
Those qualities have been matched by a remarkable work ethic. Speaking previously about his development, Wei revealed he regularly trained beyond his academy schedule.
"When the team trained in the morning, I added a couple of hours in the afternoon," he explained. "Then in the evenings I would go to the gym and do weight training."
His academy environment was equally demanding, with breakfast beginning at 6am and players expected to maintain strict standards throughout every session.
Turning adversity into motivation
Wei's path to professional football was not always straightforward. In 2022, despite scoring freely at youth level, one of his coaches left him out of the team and refused to award him the top athlete certificate required to progress through China's elite development system.
It was a difficult period for both Wei and his family. The coach later admitted the decision had been deliberate, believing the setback would motivate the young striker to improve even further. It did exactly that.
Wei responded by leading Meizhou Hakka to the U15 national title, earning the certificate and being named the competition's best player. Soon afterwards, he became a regular for China's youth national teams and was included in The Guardian's annual list of the world's best young footballers.
A new challenge in Ligue 1 McDonald's
Auxerre have described Wei as one of the "great hopes" of Chinese football, and he now has the opportunity to continue that development in France.
His move is significant beyond club level too. Chinese players have become increasingly rare in Europe's top leagues in recent years, making Wei one of the country's brightest hopes on the continent.
Still only 18, he arrives at the Abbé-Deschamps with plenty of potential and the chance to make his mark in Ligue 1 McDonald's.
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