LONDON (AFP) - Manchester City on Friday announced they will visit China as part of their pre-season preparations with impending new manager Pep Guardiola.

The news comes two months after a consortium of high-profile Chinese investors acquired a 13 per cent stake in the club's holding company the City Football Group.

Full details are yet to be revealed but the matches City play will be in the International Champions Cup, a prestigious friendly tournament series which annually features some of the world's glamour clubs.

The competition is likely to be among the first public tests for Guardiola, who will arrive from Bayern Munich at the end of this season to take over from current boss Manuel Pellegrini.

The announcement was made in a press release detailing a number of initiatives the club are undertaking to celebrate Chinese New Year and which further emphasises the club's growing links with the Asian country.

City also hosted Chinese president Xi Jinping during his state visit to the UK last year.