NANJING, Mar. 2 (Xinhua) -- Jiangsu Suning are hoping to qualify for the AFC Champions League this year, the club's general manager Liu Jun said here on Thursday at a press conference for the start of the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) season.

Having struggled to secure their position in the Super League last year, Jiangsu Suning signed two U23 players - Abduhamit Abdugeni and Zhang Lingfeng this winter. They have also brought in Ghanaian international Richmond Boakye and Italian defender Gabriel Paletta.

Through the winter training period and a series of warm-up matches, Liu Jun believes his team is well-prepared for the new season, and look forward to pursuing AFC Champions League qualification.

In terms of cultivating their own talent, Liu Jun mentioned that his club will continue to improve the building of their youth squad.

Jiangsu Suning will visit Guizhou Hengfeng in the first round of the competition on March 4.