NEW YORK, Oct 2: China's national team beat the US 6-5 in an amateur boxing tournament as Beijing Olympic medallists Zhang Zhilei and Zou Shiming both pounded out wins over their American opponents on Friday.

China swept the final three bouts overwhelming their US counterparts in the exhibition dubbed “Empires Collide” which marked the first amateur dual meet between the two countries on US soil.

The results validated China's surprising performance at the 2008 Beijing Games where they captured four Olympics medals compared to just one bronze for the Americans.

China is using the New York tournament as a testing ground for the upcoming 2012 London Summer Games.

“The Chinese are going to have a good, solid team,” says American boxing trainer Al Mitchell. “And these fights will go a long way towards seeing who is ready to contend for the Olympics.”

The Chinese need to look no further than six-foot-seven, super heavyweight Zhang and junior flyweight Zou to gauge their progress in the sport.

Southpaw Zhang won a silver in Beijing and the lightning-quick Zou (108 lbs) captured gold and is considered the best in the world in his weight class.

Zhang is hoping to eventually inject some excitement back into the pro heavyweight ranks which are now dominated by the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali.

China won the first two matches on Friday before the Americans strung together five wins in the next six in front of a pro-China crowd at the Capitale in Manhattan's historic Chinatown district.

The US won a pair of bouts by tiebreakers as the two countries seem to be heading in opposite directions when it comes to the sport.

China carried their Olympic success into the 2009 World Championships in Milan, Italy where they captured two bronze.—AFP