BEIJING -- The Olympic Games in August is not a goal in itself for China, but a valuable legacy for future generations, Deng Yaping, a veteran woman table tennis player, said on the sidelines of the meeting of China's top political advisory body.

Former Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping poses with a child at a commercial ceremony in Beijing in this December 15, 2008 file photo. Deng said the upcoming Beijing Olympics is a valuable legacy for future generations. [Xinhua]

"Hosting the Olympic Games is a great achievement in China's sports history, but it doesn't mean that when the curtains are down, sports development is over," said Deng, a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The Olympics will leave a legacy for China, she said, including first-class stadiums as well as skilled personnel familiar with international rules.

Protecting and fully using the stadiums and expertise are key to a sustainable development in the post-Olympic era in China, she said.

Deng also pointed out that in the future, sports could play a more important role in diplomatic relations. "By hosting the Olympics, we have learnt how to deepen understanding and exchanges with foreign countries," she said.

Her view was echoed by Wang Rusong, a researcher with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, who saw the legacy of Olympics from another angle.

"The Beijing Olympics is an opportunity for improving the environment in terms of a long process," he said. "We should not concentrate on the issue merely in terms of improving China's image in the world."

Beijing has shut down polluting industries and relocated the major steel manufacturer, Shougang Group, a heavy polluter, to north China's Hebei Province. In the meantime, its facilities have been upgraded to make it more environment-friendly.