GUANGZHOU, China - The NBA plans to double the size of its China operations over the next two years to help keep pace with rapid growth in demand for its products in the country, Commissioner David Stern said Sunday.

Sales of the league's branded products and broadcast rights in the country have been growing at 30 percent a year, Stern said in an interview in Guangzhou, China, where the U.S. national basketball team is playing a series of warmup games for this month's World Championships in Japan.

"The China market is our most important and largest market outside the United States," he said.

The league currently has three offices in China, including Hong Kong, with about 50 staff. "My guess is we'll double it in size by the Beijing Olympics" in 2008, Stern said.

Stern said the ramping-up will involve a big increase in marketing partners, more sales of league products such as shirts and caps, and an expanded presence online, possibly including live streaming of NBA games or offering archived games from the past.

He said he also expects the number of Chinese TV stations showing NBA games to double to 50 over the next decade.

The league is also working closely with Beijing's Olympic organizers to make basketball "a very successful part of the Beijing Olympics."

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