The 2025 Chinese Super League season is fast approaching, but which teams are set to contest the top tier of Chinese football?
Much like the majority of seasons since the rebranding in 2004, 16 teams will compete for China’s top league title.
With the first eight teams already looked at in our previous list, here are the remaining eight teams set to contest the 2025 season, and how they performed in 2024.
Changchun Yatai
Changchun Yatai finished 2024 in the same position they finished in 2023, but only thanks to a change in coaching staff part-way through the season.
Xie Hui helped revitalise a squad that struggled to get things going in the opening phase of the season and he will be hoping to build on some positive results from last year in 2025.
His squad will be changed somewhat, with several regular first-team players departing this winter, including captain Serginho after five years with the team and popular midfielder Peter Zulj after two.
Xie Hui has worked to strengthen his squad, particularly in defence, with the likes of former China internationals Xu Haofeng and Xu Yue linking up with forme 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Tan Long, Diliyimit Tudi and Yao Xuchen – the latter also joining this winter.
Striker Ohi Omoijuanfo and midfielder Wylan Cyprien round out the team’s import players, with Robert Beric, Lazar Rosic and Stoppila Sunzu all returning from last season.
Xie Hui has worked to address a deficit in wide defenders and midfielders, with Li Shenyuan also expected to sign a new deal, while former loanee Sun Qinhan has also been confirmed as joining the team, alongside Piao Taoyu and Zhou Junchen (on loan from Shanghai Shenhua).
2025 should see a fairly new-look Changchun squad, with hopes of securing another mid-table position and avoiding a relegation battle once again.
Last Season: 9th
Qingdao West Coast
In their debut Chinese Super League campaign, Qingdao West Coast surprised many and even performed better than city rivals Qingdao Hainiu – coming in 10th place.
This season, the team will be looking to take the next step and push for a top-half finish, with experience the clear intention from their winter transfer business so far.
The majority signings made by the club are over the age of 30, with many well into their mid-30s already, including veterans such as Gao Di (Zhejiang), Sun Jie (Changchun Yatai), Ding Haifeng (Tianjin Jinmen Tiger) and Zhang Chengdong (Beijing Guoan).
West Coast have also strengthened in the import player department, bringing back former Chinese Super League and Super Cup champion Davidson, who won the competitions with Wuhan Three Towns.
Alongside him are Nélson da Luz and Matheus Índio, both of whom join from Portuguese top-tier club Vitória Guimarães.
Shao Jiayi had a positive effect on the club when he was brought in part-way through the 2024 season, and it’s hoped that he and his coaching staff, along with this influx of experienced players, can continue that trend and place the team further up the standings.
However, it does look like the team will be trying to achieve this without the help of naturalised striker A Lan, who remains without a club after 15 goal contributions (11 of his own) last season.
Last Season: 10th
Wuhan Three Towns
Wuhan Three Towns continued on a downwards trajectory from their 2021 Chinese Super League title success in 2024, and will look significantly changed when the 2025 season starts.
The team has undergone a massive turnover in players, seeing some key contributors such as Liu Dianzuo (Chengdu Rongcheng), He Chao (Henan), Tao Qianglong (Zhejiang), Jiang Zhipeng (Shenzhen) and Liu Ruofan (Shanghai Port) all depart this winter for various clubs across the league.
In their place are a number of players from clubs that finished in the bottom half of the league as well last season, including Liao Chengjian and Wang Jinxian from Changchun Yatai and Zhong Jinbao and Long Wei from Qingdao Hainiu.
Wuhan have brought in Joca, Gustavo Sauer and Alexandru Tudorie as import players for the new season, but the loss of key domestic players could see the team struggle to compete once again and be consigned to a difficult relegation battle for most of the new season.
Finishing 11th in 2024, Wuhan will be lucky to climb so high again – a far cry from their dominant 2021 season that shocked the Middle Kingdom.
Last Season: 11th
Qingdao Hainiu
After finishing 13th in their return to the Chinese Super League in 2023, Qingdao Hainiu went one better and finished 12th in 2024.
The team were regularly embroiled in the close-fought relegation battle that could have seen any one of six teams suffer the drop right up until the final matches of the campaign – securing their top tier safety for at least another year.
Qingdao are another team experiencing a large turnover of players, but they will be hoping that some of the new faces they have brought in can have a significant impact on their fortunes in 2025.
Experienced players such as Luo Senwen (Wuhan Three Towns), Jin Yangyang (Shanghai Shenhua), Feng Boyuan (Henan) and Han Rongze (Shandong Taishan) have joined on permanent deals, giving Qingdao some players who can create a stable core that looks to be more competitive this time around.
Nikola Radmanovac, Filipe Augusto and Santiago Ormeño are the team’s new contingent of import players looking to make a positive impact, while Brazilian Diego Lopes has departed this winter.
New manager Li Xiaopeng will be hoping to use his years of experience to keep Qingdao safely in the top tier and ensure they remain as a Chinese Super League season for the longer term.
Last Season: 12th
Shenzhen Peng City
City Group’s newly rebranded team, formerly Sichuan Jiuniu, secured their status in China’s top tier for 2025. Still, the team arguably underperformed considering the level of investment that should be available to the team.
Shenzhen have not made as many transfers as some of their counterparts, but they have brought in some domestic experience in the form of Zhang Xiaobin and Jiang Zhipeng from Wuhan Three Towns.
The team, who former Nice assistant Christian Lattanzio will manage, will also be hoping some new import faces, such as Manprit Sarkaria and Tiago Leonço can help the team’s returning core take the next step and push themselves higher up the league standings.
Last Season: 14th
Meizhou Hakka
Meizhou Hakka are a team that were not originally expected to play in the top tier in 2025, due to the fact that they were relegated at the end of the 2024 season.
However, fate would see Meizhou saved for at least another year as Cangzhou Mighty Lions, who finished the 2024 season in 13th, ahead of Shenzhen, were officially dissolved due to outstanding debts that could not be overcome.
As a result, Meizhou were given a reprieve and remain in the Chinese Super League for another campaign – although they will likely be one of the favourites for the relegation battle from the start.
The team have made a number of moves in the transfer market this winter, bringing in the likes of Liu Yun (Changchun Yatai), Wen Da (Cangzhou), Andrej Kotnik (Dalian Yingbo) and Jerome Ngom Mbekeli (Sheriff Tiraspol) to strengthen their attacking options.
However, the team still lacks much quality and it could be a long and arduous season for a team originally preparing to compete in China League One until just a few weeks ago.
Last Season: 15th (Relegated, but saved)
Yunnan Yukun
Champions of China League One in 2024, Yunnan Yukun have been exceptionally busy in the transfer market, looking to ensure they avoid a relegation battle and secure their place in the Chinese Super League beyond this campaign.
Managed by Norwegian Jörn Andersen, the team has undergone an overhaul of the squad that won promotion to the top tier, seeing effectively a brand new team formed for their debut season in the CSL.
Players from across the league have made the move to China’s southwest, with some well-known players such as Geng Xiaofeng (Chengdu Rongcheng), Ma Zhen (Shanghai Shenhua), Zhang Yufeng (Changchun Yatai), Ye Chugui (Meizhou Hakka) and Li Songyi (Henan) joining.
The highlights of the off-season so far, however, have seen naturalised player Hou Yongyong, who recently participated in the China National Team training camp, arrive from Norwegian side Ranheim, while Hélder Costa, Nené and Pedro Henrique have joined to round of the team’s import group.
Yunnan will at the very least be expecting to compete around mid-table this season and could cause a few upsets under Andersen’s continued guidance.
Last Season: 1st, China League One
Dalian Yingbo
A Dalian team is back in the top tier once again. The northeastern city is synonymous with football in China, courtesy of Dalian Shide’s many years of success, and losing that team, Dalian Professional and even Dalian Transcendence in recent years has been a disappointment for many.
Yingbo finished last year as runners-up in China League One, joining Yunnan Yukun as a promoted side for 2025.
The team have made some big moves this winter, bringing in successful import players Cephas Malele (Shanghai Shenhua), Oliver Gerbig (Henan) and Mamadou Traoré (Beijing Guoan), along with Zakaria Lyabad from Yunnan.
Wen Jiabao from Shanghai Shenhua and Cui Qi from Changchun Yatai are also some of the more experienced domestic players to transfer to Liaoning Province, with Li Guoxi’s side hoping to make a big impact from the start and ensure they retain their place in the top tier beyond 2025.
Last Season: 2nd, China League One