It was also extremely odd to me that there was no Chinese press there. Ding's English is not excellent, and to not be able to catch his first moments in his native tongue seems to have been a major failing of the Chinese press.
I've seen international competitions where the winner is interviewed by a reporter from their home country in their native language. It can often be a nice touch, and is very different from using a translator to speak to English speaking reports.
Norway is a small country (1/300th the population of China) with Magnus Carlson. Chess could be of interest to a small fraction of China and still produce champions.
