More than 70 percent of Chinese say they will continue to support brands endorsed by Liu Xiang, China's track and field star who quit the Olympic men's 110m hurdle event on August 18, the Economic Observer reported Monday, citing a report by CTR Market Research.

According to the CTR report, 77.8 percent of Chinese citizens said they "understood" Liu's withdrawal from the race, and more than 93 percent said that they will continue to support the hurdler.

As for the Liu Xiang-endorsed brands, 52.8 percent of Chinese said they still positively enjoy Liu's advertisements, and 16.7 percent said they are happy with the ads, making a total of about 70 percent of Chinese who continue to accept Liu's endorsements.

When asked whether they will purchase Liu-endorsed products in future, 49 percent replied with a clear yes and 19% said maybe.

Currently Liu has endorsement contracts with 16 sponsors, including heavy-hitters like Coca-Cola, Nike, Yili, VISA, Lenovo and Ping An Insurance. Most sponsors have expressed their continued support for the athlete despite his untimely departure from the Beijing Olympic Games.

CTR surveyed 2,500 individuals in 128 major cities in China.

For more details, please read the complete story in Chinese:

(http://www.eeo.com.cn/industry/med_consum_goods/2008/08/25/111480.html)

(China.org.cn by Yan Pei, August 25, 2008)