With Romanian striker Cristian Danalache the 2012 Chinese league golden boot winner absent, Jiangsu Sainty, the domestic league runner-up has already dropped to 13th place in the Super League. Instead of reserving its forces for the domestic league on weekends, the club sent its best lineup to the Champions League and claimed a 2-1 win against Japan's Vegalta Sendai.
Jiangsu's seven points were tied with Thailand's Buriram United, but it failed to make the last 16 due to goal difference.
In a match against Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Guizhou came back twice for a 2-2 draw.
More encouraging is China's increasing competitiveness with Korea and Japan.
Beijing neatly highlighted the new dynamic, claiming two wins and two draws against Japanese and Korean teams in Group G.
The four Chinese teams managed a total of 33 points in group games, the same as Japan's teams, while the Korean teams finished with 32.
"The four teams played remarkable group games - we are glad to see all of them place an emphasis on the tournament and make their best effort in each game," said Liu Dianqiu, executive director of the Chinese professional league council."Guizhou and Jiangsu didn't give up through the last minute, and played their best games in the last round, which is quite a feat for the fans."
In an online pool on Sina.com, more than 87 percent of participants said they are satisfied with the Chinese teams' group performances, and have seen an improvement in the Chinese league.
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