The goal Laurent shares with China Open U14 patron Li Hansheng, a Hong Kong real estate mogul who forked out hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund the event, is to transplant the French format in China.
"My goal here is to have 10,000 kids to play the competition across many cities and have a lot of them come to Beijing to play," Laurent explained.
He and Li are acquainted through a mutual contact at CCTV, and plan to use the Sunday program Li owns on the network's Teenager Channel as a spotlight in the search for China's own Federer or Henin, both current world No 1s and products of the European Young Star Association circuit.
"I paid the French side 200 thousand euros to get their admittance and I also paid all the expenses of international players and organizing staff here in Beijing," the philanthropic Li told China Daily.
Chinese women Zheng Jie and Yan Zi's doubles victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year inspired Li to throw his considerable wealth not behind the top level of tennis but where it will ultimately count most: grassroots.
"I do it because I am fully aware of the big impact that sports may make to their lives," he said.
"I love to see them play, I love to see them grow through competition and I believe they will be a force in the world some day by competing at this tournament."
Integral to the success of the European version has been its double commitment to educational initiatives.
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