Last week it took 12.91 seconds for China's Liu Xiang to usher in a new era.

CNN: China takes the Olympic limelight

However Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang's absence again from the CPPCC session is "arousing dissatisfaction among the online population", Xinhua reports.

BBC: China media: Two sessions

Ma Bang added that the player from Jiangsu Province has been placed in the same league as China's NBA export Yao Ming and 110m hurdles record holder Liu Xiang.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | China in Ding's hands

When China's heavily hyped and widely marketed track star Liu Xiang limped away from the starting blocks earlier this week, his legions of fans weren't the only ones let down.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The behemoth from Beaverton, Oregon has already shown how much it values the Chinese market by signing sponsorship contracts with stars like NBA phenom Jeremy Lin, tennis star Li Na and Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

For the purposes of his projection model, Johnson doesn't care whether China's Liu Xiang can beat Jason Richardson of the U.S. in the 110-meter hurdles, or if American gymnast Jordyn Wieber can beat back China's army of tiny tumblers.

WSJ: The U.S. Should Clobber the World in London