The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)??announced on Sunday a?comprehensive multi-year collaboration to foster coaching development in China.

The NBA is investing in the development of Chinese coaches through this partnership by providing extensive development tools and training.

"NBA coaches will visit China together with strength and conditioning trainers and nutritionists to meet with and counsel coaches, important coaches at elite levels as well as important coaches at the grassroots levels" said David Stern, NBA commissioner, "so that all levels of basketball were taken care of to further the development of coaching in China."

According to Stern, the NBA will be hosting visits of Chinese coaches at training camps in the United States where techniques will be shared and some number of coaches after the initial training camp period will be invited to stay in the United States for a full season where they can observe and visit with NBA and NBA Development League teams so that there can be a complete level of cooperation.

CBA will select outstanding coaches at a national level and other levels to go to NBA Development League to observe and also to participate in the capacity of assistant coaches in different kinds of training and games.

"As we all know that NBA possesses excellent resources of basketball coaching, and CBA attaches great importance to a comprehensive collaboration with NBA," said Li Jinsheng, vice president of CBA. "We believe to improve the level of basketball in the country, the coaches' quality and level and skill is the key."

This new initiative marks another milestone in the partnership between NBA and CBA. Since 2004, NBA and CBA have cooperated on many fronts to grow the game of basketball in China.

Guo Shiqiang, coach of the Chinese national team, was already in the United States when NBA and CBA were discussing and signed the agreement.