Andreas Zagklis, secretary general of FIBA, the international basketball governing body, described the Chinese women's national team as the most promising team at the press conference on Monday.

China reached the final in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Australia in October and finished the tournament as the runners-up. It was the second time the team did so in the history of the World Cup (World Championship). The last time was in 1994, also in Australia.

Zagklis recalled that Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, had told him before the World Cup that the Chinese national team would go all the way to the final stage. Zagklis praised Chinese players including Han Xu and Li Meng, saying that he saw confidence in them and the belief that they could beat any opponent once they were on the court.

The FIBA executive also spoke highly of the various club competitions of women's basketball in Asia, including China's WCBA. He believes that FIBA will join hands with all associations to promote the development of women's basketball.

Part of the women's basketball games in the Paris Olympics in 2024 will move to Lille, which is about 200 kilometers north of Paris. Zagklis told reporters that FIBA can compromise over the relocation of the venue, but they won't compromise over safety of the athletes. He understands that the Paris Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games wants to have the women's basketball games in a bigger arena, but FIBA needs a working solution, which may cost a lot of money.

The women's basketball competitions in Lille will happen at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which has a capacity to hold 27,000 people. It hosted some of the games at EuroBasket 2015 and other major competitions.