On the morning of August 28, 2006, China's Sports Minister and Chinese Olympic Committee President Liu Peng met with Mr Don Porter, President of the International Softball Federation who is here in Beijing for the current 11th World Women's Softball Championship. The two sides exchanged views on issues of common interest.

Liu Peng extended a warm welcome to the ISF chief and thanked him for ISF's energetic and consistent support to China's softball development since China's successful hosting of the ISF World Junior Women's Championship in 2003. He said through this World Championship Beijing will get better prepared for Olympic softball competition in 2008.

Chinese softball reached its peak with a silver medal from Atlanta 1996, when the sport made it first appearance at the Olympic Games, Liu added. In the last two years, however, the sport faces downslide danger, he said. He hoped Chinese players will achieve good results at Beijing 2008. He then briefed the ISF President about Beijing's preparations for the Olympic Games.

The ISF leader spoke highly of yesterday's opening ceremony of the World Championship, which was said to have attracted some 200 million TV viewers across the world. He attributed China's softball development to the long-time efforts made by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the Chinese Softball Association (CSA). He hoped that after the Beijing Olympic Games China will continue to promote the sport of softball and by making full use of the existing softball fields set up an Asian softball training base for the sport's further development in the region.

Liu Peng told his guest that although softball will no longer be on the Olympic programme for London 2012 China will continue to support its softball development. Among other things, softball will still be an official sport in the National Games, and softball teams at provincial and municipal levels will be retained.

Present at the meeting were CSA President He Huixian, COC Secretary-General Gu Yaoming and CSA Vice-President Jiang Xiuyun.