The head coach of the Chinese men's national volleyball team, Vital Heynen, is already leading the team's preparation for the new Nations League season. The first group of players started a training camp at the Ningbo Beilun training base – a traditional center for the country's national teams.

The preparation is aimed at China's participation in the VNL and the upcoming Asian Championship, as at this stage the federation has not yet announced the official list of players. The deadline for submitting the extended rosters for the Nations League is May 13.
Bulgaria will once again face the Chinese team, this time in the third week of the VNL tournament. The match is scheduled for July 18 in Chicago and will be the second for the "Lions" in their final pool of matches.
The two teams already met in the previous edition of the competition. In Gdansk, during the third week of VNL 2025, Bulgaria achieved a decisive 3:0 victory (25:23, 25:16, 26:24), controlling the match development in all three sets.
This result provides a good reference point for comparison, but considering Heynen's work and the current preparation process, a different face of the Chinese team can be expected this season.

Photos: CVA (Zhu Lin)