BEIJING - China's French Open tennis champion Li Na is writing a memoir to tell the story of, as the book's title claims, "How to Go West and Win".

Penguin will co-publish the book in Chinese in spring 2012 with a Chinese partner - a first for the British company whose business in China up to now has focused on importing English titles and exporting translations.

However, it is not the first time for foreign publishers to take interest in a Chinese sports star. Seven years ago, Chinese basketball player Yao Ming's biography "A life in two worlds" was published in the United States by Miramax.

Just like Yao and Li, a new generation of Chinese sports elite are now helping to raise the country's profile in the world. As sports is a universal language, the Chinese sports stars are the best cultural ambassadors to help the world know more about China.

Yao is definitely a pioneer for helping China open up. The 2.26-meter giant, with the combination of strength, height, skills, as well as his global celebrity, is the perfect sport icon to represent the growth and global status of an emerging China, while his humor, modesty and tolerance shown in the game, has impressed the world and helped resolve misunderstandings across different cultures.

The Shanghai native, labeled as China's biggest export to the United States, played for eight seasons in the NBA after being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, and announced his retirement in July.

He averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds and has been named in the NBA All-Star team eight times. Yao made the cover story of the Asian Edition of Time Magazine twice, and was selected by the magazine as one of its "100 most influential people in the world today" twice.

Three-time All-Star and former Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis has called Yao a "pioneer" in bridging the U.S. and Chinese basketball cultures.

"Yao was the first Chinese basketball player to break the barrier to come to the U.S. to play basketball and won respect, and Yao's case enabled other Chinese players to follow suit," said Francis.

"Yao has been a transformational player and a testament to the globalization of our game.

"His dominant play and endearing demeanor along with his extensive humanitarian efforts have made him an international fan favorite and provided an extraordinary bridge between basketball fans in the United States and China."