BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese sports head Liu Peng on Tuesday warned against doping when China formed the Olympic squad for the London Games.

China will send 396 athletes in 23 sports to the upcoming London Games which start on July 27, hoping they can repeat the feats of Beijing 2008.

But Liu, head of the Chinese General Administration of Sport, said to ensure clean matches will be given priority at the games.

"We must adopt zero tolerance policy against doping and those offenders will be punished without mercy," said Liu.

"It's not only about winning golds, it's also about athletes' health, it's about the image of Chinese sports."

At Beijing 2008, host China sent its biggest-ever Olympic team of 639 athletes and stunned the world by standing on top of the medal table. And no Chinese athlete had tested positive at those games.

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