Beijing needs foreign experts, says Tu

BEIJING, Mar 15 (Reuters) Beijing needs foreign expertise as well as Chinese talent in order to put on a top class Olympic Games next year, according to the country's former Olympic chief.

Tu Mingde, who played a major role in Beijing's winning bid to host the Games, believes that while it is vital the Games has a distinctive Chinese atmosphere, they also need to hire people who have worked at previous Games.

''Although we have many talented people in terms of sports organisation - our National Games, for example are comparable in scale to an Olympics -- the organisation of the Olympic Games is totally different,'' he told Reuters in an interview.

''The International Olympic Committee (IOC) are very much concerned about that because it's the first time for China to host the Olympic Games. They have the Olympic 'talent bank' and from time-to-time they recommend someone.

''Our attitude is an open mind because it's imperative to recruit some technical people, some talented people who really have the experience of running the Games.'' Beijing organisers had already hired an expert in dealing with the National Olympic Committees, Tu said, but foreign help was also needed in areas like timing and scoring.

''Our technical people sometimes have a different opinion, they think they should be given preference, more opportunity to work,'' Tu added.

''I think if we had totally foreign experts, or totally local experts would wrong the perfect situation is for local and foreign experts to work together.'' Tu, who was speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the advisory body to China's parliament, has been at every Olympics since Moscow 1980 and is very keen that those who come to Beijing in August next year get a real taste of China.

''I always think as far as the organisation of the events is concerned, whether it is in Sydney or Atlanta, Moscow or Barcelona, everything is the same,'' he said. ''It's only when you go outside, you think 'oh it's in Barcelona,''' he said.

''It's like cooking, ultimately food's something to fill your stomach, but the ways of cooking are different. When it comes to the Olympics, you have to satisfy international standards and norms but you still have to have the Chinese ingredient.

''I think this is the charm of the Olympics, if something is monotonous, with no taste, it will lose its vitality.'' Overall Tu, who holds the office of assistant to the president of Beijing organising committee Liu Qi, believes preparations for the Games are going very well.

While conceding to not being an expert on environmental matters, Tu said he had attended enough meetings to be optimistic that Beijing would fulfil its commitments to clean up the city's notorious pollution in time for the Games.

''A 100 percent guarantee that everything will be solved? No,'' he said. ''But I'm sure the quality of the air will be good enough for the athletes, that is very important.'' REUTERS SAM SSC1424