Major League Baseball and the China Baseball Association "put pen to paper on an extended partnership deal" in China on Wednesday that "seeks to spur the development of baseball at all levels in the world's most populous country," according to Spencer Musick of XINHUA. The signing ceremony was "held on the sidelines of the ongoing 13th National Games of China." The agreement's "key components are centered around fostering grassroots baseball talent and generating enthusiasm for the sport among the general public." MLB VP for Asia-Pacific James Small said that the agreement was "just the latest chapter in a relationship between the MLB and the CBA" that started in '01, calling it "a partnership that benefits Major League Baseball ... and sports in China as well." Small: "Because of our partnership, more kids are playing the game of baseball, more adults are playing the game of baseball. The game is continuing to grow at a very very high level. And we are excited to be a part of that. ... I have said many times that baseball is perfectly suited for China. And there are 1.3 billion people in China who are baseball fans, they just don't know it yet." He added, "For baseball to be successful here, it needs to be a Chinese game. It needs to be umpired by Chinese, it needs to be officiated by Chinese, it needs to be played by Chinese. It can't be an American game that is played in China, it has to be a Chinese game." Another component of the partnership between the CBA and MLB "seeks to use the latter's training expertise to build a strong Chinese national team from the existing pool of talent." Small said that this aspect of the partnership is a "continuation of work that the MLB has been undertaking for many years." He also added that "several ideas put forward by the Chinese side to augment this training work are on the table," but that the "exact details of how this cooperation might be expanded have not yet been worked out." Small: "Baseball returning to the Olympics in the 2020 Games in Tokyo is a very significant development in the growth of baseball around the world. And I think in terms of our relationship with the CBA it creates a more direct focus because there is a specific goal in mind in terms of training a team that can qualify for 2020" (XINHUA, 8/30).
