Nike is developing plans to use Jeremy Lin, US basketball's newest star, to market its products in China as it tries to maintain rapid growth in a region where its annual revenues are heading towards $3bn.

耐克(Nike)正拟订计划，打算利用美国篮球界最新涌现的明星林书豪(Jeremy Lin)在中国推广产品。该公司在中国的年收入正朝着30亿美元迈进，它试图保持在华业务的快速增长。

Mr Lin, a son of Taiwanese immigrants who has been sponsored by Nike since 2010, has gone from second-string obscurity to stardom this month by securing a series of victories for the New York Knicks.

本月，林书豪为纽约尼克斯队(New York Knicks)拿下多场比赛，从一名不为人知的二线球员一跃成为明星。林书豪是台湾移民的后裔，自2010年起得到耐克赞助。

Charlie Denson, president of the Nike brand, told the Financial Times that the world's biggest sporting goods maker by sales was already exploring ways to profit from its most unexpected celebrity in China.

耐克品牌总裁查理?丹森(Charlie Denson)向英国《金融时报》表示，该公司已在研究如何利用它最意想不到的明星在中国获利。以销量计，耐克是全球最大的体育用品制造商。

"No question. We're developing plans as we speak,' he said. "The fact he's experiencing the kind of success he's having now is a very, very pleasant surprise for us.' Nike, however, declined to comment on rumours that it was working on a Lin signature shoe.

毫无疑问，此时此刻我们正在拟订相关计划。他说，他正在经历的这种成功，令我们喜出望外。不过，耐克拒绝就有关该公司正筹划推出林书豪签名球鞋的传言置评。

The US company is seeking to benefit from the growing number of people playing sport in China, where basketball is already hugely popular as a spectator sport.

在中国，从事体育运动的人越来越多，而作为一种观赏性项目，篮球已在中国拥有极高的人气。耐克这家美国公司希望借此获利。

State-owned media in China were at first slow to jump on the Lin story, appearing wary of his professions of devout Christianity; the ruling Communist party is officially atheist. But among ordinary fans, his popularity has soared. He now has more than 2m followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

中国国有媒体最初在报道林书豪现象时有些迟疑，似乎对林书豪虔诚的基督教信仰保持警惕；执政的共产党在理论上是无神论者。但在普通球迷中，林书豪的人气急速上升。目前，他在微博（中国版Twitter）上的粉丝已经超过200万。

Asked how Mr Lin's Taiwanese background would affect Nike's plans, Mr Denson said: "We'll see. We haven't really got that far yet. All we know is that the kids who love basketball in China relate to Jeremy Lin. You know there are certain things that transcend certain things, and sometimes sport transcends governmental boundaries."

在被问及林书豪的台湾背景会对耐克的计划产生何种影响时，丹森谈到，再说吧。我们还没有真的走到那一步。我们只知道中国那些喜欢篮球的孩子们很欣赏林书豪。你知道，有些事是可以超越另一些事的，体育有时可以跨越政府的界限。

译者:何黎