A 68.55 percent stake in Italian soccer club Inter Milan would be bought by Chinese retail giant Suning Commerce Group, reported the media citing sources that familiar with the matter.

The sources said that while current majority owner Erick Thohir will cut his stake to 31 percent and stay on as president, former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti will sell off his entire stake in the club, which amounts to just under 30 percent.

Widely expected to confirm that Suning will buy a majority stake in the Italian club, Suning and Inter Milan are due to make an announcement in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing.

A call to the club’s office in Milan was unanswered.

The latest step in a plan of China to create a global sports empire stretching from soccer clubs to online broadcasting, the Suning’s deal will take control of the 2010 European soccer champions with President Xi Jinping being an avid supporter of the game.

According to a Suning Sports Group document, reports Reuters, deals are being sought by the Chinese electronics retailer to help create a global sporting “ecosystem”.

Club ownership, sports media rights, player agencies, training institutions, broadcast platforms, content production and sports-related e-commerce could be included in the dral.

“Suning Sports aims, through strategic expansion and acquisitions, to establish a sporting ecosystem along the whole supply chain,” the document said in a roughly 20-page presentation outlining its ambitions for the sports business, reports Reuters.

A big step towards this would be a majority stake in Inter Milan. Making Suning the first mainland Chinese business to control a major European soccer power, the deal would be a watershed moment for China’s investment in the game.

The presentation said that areas that include “creating high-quality sports content” and “establishing a professional broadcast platform” would help Suning to seek to become a leader globally in sports media and online.

Suning declined to comment.

Suning has splashed millions of dollars on players such as Brazil’s Alex Teixeira and former Chelsea midfielder Ramires for local club Jiangsu Suning that it owns. The company has annual revenues topping $20 billion.

In addition its has a  stake in Chinese online content platform PPTV, with sporting content including the Chinese Super League as well as Euro 2016 starting later this month and close ties with Spanish champions FC and England’s Liverpool FC.

An ambitious plan to create a domestic sports industry worth $850 billion by 2025 has been formulated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and the drive tallies with that plan. Xi wants China to one day host, and win, the World Cup.

“Suning is definitely now seen as a bit of a national champion, on par with the likes of Alibaba Group Holdings and Dalian Wanda. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more investments into the game from Suning in the near future, as it looks to piece together assets in various key areas of the business,” said Mark Dreyer, Beijing-based founder of sports information website China Sports Insider.

While smaller Spanish club Espanyol and England’s Aston Villa are Chinese-owned, Chinese investors already have minority stakes in England’s Manchester City, Spain’s Atletico Madrid and New York City FC. Talks are on for the sale of a majority stake in Inter’s city rival AC Milan to a group of Chinese investors.

(Adapted from CNBC)