Mick Hartley

Not a football result to make the headlines here, but it's a big deal to the Chinese:

China stunned holders South Korea 3-0 at the East Asian championship on Wednesday to take pole position at the four-team tournament.

It was China's first victory over the Koreans since the countries began playing full internationals in 1978.

"I'm delighted with the result," China coach Gao Hongbo told reporters after they moved to four points from two games.

"Our tactics and preparation were spot-on. China are still not at the level of Korea and Japan but we demonstrated excellent mental strength and were fortunate to score three goals."

"Excellent mental strength" – straight out of the Arsene Wenger book of footballing clichés.

[Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon]

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo put it into context:

China's first victory over Korea in 32 years marks the end of an era where Korea represented a model for China to emulate, said Kim Dong-jin, the head of Korean steelmaker POSCO's Chinese subsidiary. "We must look for a new relationship that balances competition and cooperation."

Some Korean businesspeople in China felt uneasy about the continued defeat of the Chinese team by Korea. In meetings the day after the regular Chinese defeats, Chinese businessmen would begin their conversations by awkwardly mentioning their team's loss, prompting the Koreans to try to console their Chinese counterparts by telling them that their team would win some day.

Since Wednesday evening, China's Internet portals were filled with hundreds of thousands of messages congratulating their team. Young Chinese, suffering from unemployment and nervous about their future, were overwhelmed by the boost to China's pride the victory brought. Some Koreans are worried. One Korean expat in Beijing said, "My fear is that the exalted sense of Chinese nationalism may spill over into the business sector and spark unfair regulations against foreign companies."

[OK yes, I do love that photo]