Mexican ambassador to China Jorge Guajardo said on Thursday it was his hope the host country would be the top winner of gold medals at the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Chinese athletes had achieved good results in recent Olympics and many media around the world believed China may finally make a breakthrough during the August Games and top the gold medal tally, Guajardo said.

"I make this wish sincerely for China to share its sports development openly and generously with many countries."

China first began sending groups of sport coaches to Mexico in 2003. More than 30 Chinese coaches have helped to develop many Mexican stars over the years in such sports as diving, ping-pong, weight-lifting and badminton, Guajardo said.

Paula Espinosa, for example, a famous Mexican diver, is expected to be formidable competition to the Chinese in the platform diving in Beijing after many years of training under Chinese coach Ma Jin.

As for many tough questions Beijing faces during the Olympics such as traffic congestion and air quality, Guajardo said: "I have seen the effort the Chinese government and people have made to solve these issues. I believe China will implement its promise to the world finally."

He said Mexico would send a team of 150 athletes to Beijing during the "sport year," a government campaign to encourage Mexicans to participate in sport and keep fit.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2008)