A Japanese company has turned to the unweighted Chinese baseball by "investing" in the country's national baseball team.
Japanese sports producer Zett, one of the top three names in the Japanese market of baseball equipment, signed a contract with the Chinese Baseball Association on Thursday.
According to the contract valid through to May 15, 2006, Zett will provide China's national baseball team with all the necessaryequipment in the next four years.
"China has developed fast in many areas including baseball, andthis fast development has attracted the world's attention. That'swhy we want to see a partnership being built between us and Chinese baseball," said Yasuo Watanabe, president of the Zett Corporation.
Besides the equipment, "a certain amount of funds" will also beprovided to Chinese baseball, according to Shen Wei, general secretary of the Chinese Baseball Association. Shen did not disclose the exact figure.
Baseball is still in its infancy in China, whose first nationalbaseball league was launched on April 26 this year.
Four teams, namely Guangdong, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, are competing in a four-round league. Each round-robin round is held in one of the team's home ground. The two leading teams, after the four rounds of competitions, will meet in Beijing on May25 for the eventual league champion title.