As Athens ends, the world looks east to Beijing

ATHENS — The Chinese sports minister, Yuan Weimin, recently approached U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth with a message.

"I told him, 'Don't worry, we will not topple you,' " Yuan recalled yesterday. "But we are making this effort."

Pingpong diplomacy has gained new meaning as the sporting world looks toward the Beijing Games in 2008.

In the next four years, China hopes to parlay its plans for the Olympics into a vehicle for self-promotion as the next economic, sports and cultural power. As workers rush to complete venues by 2007 — a year ahead of schedule — China wants to showcase the Pacific Rim's emergence on the international stage.

And it all starts in Seattle next June, with the U.S.-China sports summit, with nine events and 800 athletes so far along with cultural and economic elements.

"The tornado is blowing," Yuan said of his athletes. "The old order is destroyed."

Chinese athletes won 63 medals at the Athens Olympics, including 32 gold, ranking third behind the United States and Russia. Although the rankings were the same four years ago in Sydney, China is gaining in strategic ways.

Perhaps more important than the medal count, however, is China's growing leadership role in the sports world.

China was excluded from the Games for two decades because the International Olympic Committee recognized Taiwan instead. But it rejoined the Games 20 years ago, in Los Angeles.

Two decades later, China brought 407 athletes — averaging 23.3 years old — to Athens. Officials said yesterday they purposely built a younger team to gain experience for 2008.

Over the past two weeks, Chinese athletes made inroads in sports traditionally dominated by the West. Luo Xuejuan, 20, became the first Chinese swimmer in eight years to win an Olympic swimming event, the women's 100-meter breaststroke.

Friday night, Liu Xiang equaled the world record in the men's 110-meter hurdles, and Xing Huina won the women's 10,000 by outdueling three Ethiopians.

Such victories, coupled with multiple medals in table tennis, badminton and diving, gave Chinese officials hope.

"Sports is about national pride," said Cao Jianjie, assistant managing editor of the Xinhua news agency.

Cao said the country is particularly proud of Luo because hers was the first Olympic victory in the sport since a drug scandal involving Chinese swimmers in 1993.

After celebrating nine swimming medals at the 1992 Olympics, as well as distance-running world records, China was accused of having an organized effort to use banned drugs. When a number of those athletes tested positive in 1993, Chinese officials were embarrassed.

"It was humiliating," Cao said. "Chinese care a lot about face."

While trying to win the 2008 Olympics for Beijing, Chinese leaders addressed the drug issue head-on. They prevented 40 suspect athletes from going to Sydney to underscore that they were serious about playing fair.

Showcasing sports is but one facet of China's 2008 plan. Perhaps as important as winning medals is promoting its rich heritage.

"If it succeeds, it will lend the Olympics its special flavor," said anthropologist Susan Brownell, author of "Training the Body for China," a book about the country's sports programs.

Brownell, a former heptathlete who trained and studied in Beijing, is worried that the Beijing Games are vulnerable to over-commercialization, much like Atlanta in 1996. Multinational firms looking for an entry into the vast market could undermine Beijing's efforts, she said, by putting the focus on companies instead of athletes.

Brownell added that China lacks the experience in putting on multimedia events the way Sydney, Salt Lake City and Athens have done. So the Chinese might have trouble presenting a polished image.

"Greece has a festival culture," said Brownell. "China doesn't have that, so how do you create it?"

Language will be the country's greatest barrier. Officials hope 1 million more Chinese learn some basic English by the time the Games begin. They also plan to enlist an army of 100,000 volunteers, who often provide foreigners visiting the Olympics their first impression of a host country.

Liu Jen, a Chinese sports official, is hopeful it will be enough. He pointed to the country's full-fledged participation in the World Trade Organization, which it joined in 2001, as evidence of the country's rapid growth.

"The only thing is how can we communicate to the outside world, to tell our message," he said.

To some extent, sports can bridge the gap.

More people in the United States know basketball star Yao Ming than Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. Conversely, many Chinese teenagers follow Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, said Cao, the Xinhua editor.

The sharing of knowledge was illustrated in Athens, where former NBA coach Del Harris guided the Chinese basketball team. Foreigners also coached archery, women's field hockey, handball and kayaking.

Brownell said China hopes to have a greater presence in fine arts, opera and fashion, too.

"It's a chance to improve the exchange of ideas and friendship," Liu Jen said.