Headed by Yuan Weiming, minister of the State General Administration of Sports, top sport officials and athletes came out of the airport terminal at 6:30 local time in between cheering audience.

Basketball players, handball players, fencers, swimmers, gymnasts and their team officials are among the group.

China has formed a 948-strong delegation, the largest-ever at any international multi-sport games, for Asia's top quadrennial sports event.

Athletes of equestrian, sailing and yatching, football, beach volleyball and rowing had already arrived in Busan.

The Chinese sport officials and athletes will register into buildings 112 and 113 in the Athletes' Village, which can hold a total of 14 thousand of residents in 20 tall buildings.

Representatives of Korean Chinese and students living in this country went to the airport to welcome the delegation.

A flag-raising ceremony will be held Friday morning in the Village. Village Mayor Wang Sang-eun will attend the Chinese flag-raising ceremony.

China will compete in 36 of the 38 sports at the Asian Games and strive to defend its top position in Asian sports.

"The mission for the Chinese delegation is to secure a top finish at the golds and medals standings and maintain our lead in Asia," said Li Furong, deputy chef-de-mission of the Chinese delegation, told reporters at the airport.

He said that he felt peaceful and so did the athletes.

"It is not an easy job for the Chinese athletes to defend their top position at the Asian Games, as South Korea and Japan are also powerhouses in China's traditional strong sports.

But Li said that in the sports of diving and gymnastics, China has supremacy over their opponents.

He said that the Chinese athletes would perform well both in terms of sporting and sportsmanship.

Li spoke highly of the Busan Asian Games Organizing Committee, saying they have "done an excellent job in organizing the games".

He believed that the Korean athletes would perform well as they compete at their own country. Furthermore, they had made tremendous preparations for this games, and this could be seen in the fact that they seldom participated in major internationals sports meets recently, but conducted closed-door training for the games at home.

Jiao Dongcun, Chinese consul general in Busan, and Lee Jae-chang, director of Korea-China Friendship Association, also met the Chinese delegation at the airport.

(People's Daily September 27, 2002)