A top Chinese sports official warned athletes against complacency yesterday despite their overwhelming success at the East Asian Games (EAG), saying the medal standings counted for little.

"The medal differences between China, Japan and South Korea don't truly reflect the balance of power," China's Chef de Mission Cui Dalin told a press conference Sunday afternoon.

China topped the medal tally with 127 out of 237 awarded, 81 ahead of second-placed Japan.

Japan and South Korea fared badly at the Macao Games because they brought inexperienced athletes, while China named a mixture of youth and experience in its delegation, said Cui.

Cui also attributed their East Asian rivals' under-par display to the design of the EAG program.

"Some traditional strength sports of Japan and South Korea, such as judo and archery, are not included in the program, and it affected their results," he said.

Although there are 11 Athens Olympic champions on its team, China has set its sights on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing by fielding as many as 286 young athletes who have none internationalcompetition experience.

Cui said that he was satisfied with the performance of most young athletes.

"We are delighted to see a batch of young talent surge from theEAG," he said.

Thirteen-year-old Wang Qun, who beat Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan in the women's 100m breaststroke, and Zhang Lin, who smashed the Asian record in the men's 1,500m freestyle, were singled out for praise.

China dominated swimming events, sweeping 33 golds from 40 events.

Cui said Japan is still No. 1 in Asian swimming, citing last year's Athens Olympics and the world championships this year.

"We have to admit that Japan is stronger than China in swimming,but we will strive to catch up with them," he said.

Japanese swimmers won two golds, one silver and two bronzes in Athens, while China picked up one gold and one silver. Japan grabbed two silver and seven bronzes against China's one silver and three bronzes at the world championships in Montreal.