China's Wen invites Brown to attend Beijing Games

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao invited Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife to attend this year's Beijing Olympics on Friday.

Brown was attending a question and answer session with Wen at Beijing's People's University when he was asked by retired table tennis great Deng Yaping whether he would attend the August 8-24 Games.

"I will certainly come to the Olympic Games if I am invited," Brown said, adding that he hoped to learn from Beijing's example when London hosts the next Summer Olympics in 2012.

Wen promptly extended an invitation to the Games to Brown and his wife.

After the question and answer session, Wen and Brown went into an adjacent sports centre at the university and watched table tennis between British and Chinese players.

The two were greeted by rousing cheers and applause from hundreds of students. Brown and Wen chatted with the players and Brown congratulated China on holding the Olympics.

"I know the Chinese are the world champions in table tennis and will be after the Olympics," said Brown.

Wen spoke of how his country's national sport, which was invented in Britain, had contributed to diplomacy - an apparent reference to the "ping pong diplomacy" which helped thaw relations between China and the U.S. in the early 1970s.

"There is a Chinese saying that table tennis is popular in all the corners of the world and that this small table tennis ball symbolises world friendship," he said.

"Table tennis has created miracles in world diplomatic history," he added.

Retired British athlete Kelly Holmes, who won two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said she thought the young British athletes could learn from their Chinese counterparts.

"Obviously China is renowned for its abilities in table tennis," she said. "I think this is a great starting point for our young athletes to come and experience what's it's going to take to be as successful as them."

U.S. President George W. Bush accepted the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao to attend the Games at last year's Asia-Pacific summit in Sydney.