TIANJIN -- Japan will pose the biggest challenge to hosts China in the men's team event of Olympic gymnastics, said an established Chinese gymnast on Tuesday.

"Japanese men will be a major block on China's Olympic campaign," said Yang Wei, a rings specialist and member of the four-time world championship winning team which surprisingly finished fifth in the Olympic competitions in 2004.

Talking about the failure in Athens four years ago, Yang said he and his teammates respected the Japanese but also had faith in themselves.

"We are now confident for the gold medal after intensive training," he said.

"We will transform pressure into motivation."

The Chinese team are participating in the 2008 Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) World Cup in the north Chinese city of Tianjin.