大象传媒

In my discussions with leading academic Simon Shibli, , one thing really stood out.

And it was this: China's decision to adopt a central government policy of "whole country support for the elite sport system".

How might that manifest itself in competition, I wondered? "Team orders", he replied.

His implication was that team strategies were likely to come into play in any event in which China had two or more finalists contesting medals.

We've seen it often enough in athletics, especially from the Ethiopians and Kenyans in the distance events.

But will we possibly have seen it on such a scale as in , where the host nation's Olympians will be going all out for success?

, and the spectre of her demise in Athens but also China doing a double-team job on her around the capital's streets.

China's success story at the Olympics speaks loudly in favour of the policies adopted by as it aims for a higher medal return at the London Games in 2012.

Now there is a centralised strategic approach to performance, based on analysis, targeting, prioritisation and diversification.

That might look like a lot of management speak, so in more tangible terms it is how you go, as China has, from winning five gold medals in in 1988 to potentially 46 in Beijing in just 20 years.

There is one crucial difference, however.

UK Sport is obliged to deliver value for money and is held to account by the Government.

In 2004, the Association for Asian Research estimated that in the four years leading up to the Athens Games, China invested 拢1.2bn in top-level sport. The UK spent 拢98.6m.

You get what you pay for, it seems.

But there is also comfort to be drawn from Professor Shibli's work as Team GB works towards the "aspirational" goal of a fourth-placed finish in .

Analysis of the "home-nation" effect shows that, on average, the hosts rake in an extra seven gold medals.

Based on a projection of 11 golds for Team GB in Beijing, that would almost certainly result in the fourth-placed finish they crave - and at Australia's expense to boot.

If only it were as easy to achieve as it is to write...