"I think it's a healthy rivalry. I think we both push each other to get better. (The Chinese) are very strong," said Memmel, who has just returned to competition after a year-long layoff for injury.

During last week's Good Luck tournament, which also served as a pre-Olympic test event for the Beijing Games, Cheng and young teammate Jiang Yuyuan succeeded in blocking their US counterparts from winning, although the US team featured Memmel and Bridget Sloan, a member of the 2007 world championship-winning team.

The Chinese camp hopes some intensive winter training will enable it to again overcome the Americans.

"In the winter training, we will devise new routines for some of our athletes. Cheng for example will practice a new floor exercise routine," said Zhang Peiwen, China's team leader.

"We still have a strong reserve team for the women's uneven bars, such as He Kexin and Yang Yilin. We hope they can surprise us if we send them to international competitions."

On the men's side, China will have a bigger challenge ahead if it hopes to recapture its former glory. It has never since matched its performance at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Games, when it nabbed four of China's five gymnastics gold medals.

At the time, China's "Gymnastics Prince" Li Ning won the men's rings, floor exercises and pommel horse while teammate Lou Yun won the vault.

The current men's team faces daunting opposition in the guise of Japan, Russia, the United States and Romania, but China's team leader is optimistic.

"Some veteran gymnasts in the men's team have set good examples and they have put the whole team in the right mood for preparing for the Olympics," said Zhang. "For the horizontal bar, the traditional weak point of our team, our athletes are practicing much more difficult routines now."

During the test event in Beijing, China's Lu Bin, back from a 14-month injury break, pocketed four gold medals, staving off competition from Japan and South Korea.

"Lu did very well, which means that our reserve gymnasts are also strong," said Zhang.

The Olympic squad will be decided next July.

World all-around champion Yang Wei, team world champion member Huang Xu and 2003 vault and parallel bars world champion Li Xiaopeng all have a good chance of making the six-member men's team.

"We will of course only send the best to the Olympics because we have a good chance of getting more gold medals than in Athens," he added.