China's solar energy company - the Baoding, Heibei-based Yingli Green Energy - told China Daily today that it is proud to be an official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

This is the first time a Chinese company becomes a sponsor of the world's largest soccer event.

It also represents the rapid development in China's solar energy technology and industry, Yingli Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Miao Liangsheng said.

Miao set foot in the solar energy industry in 1993 and founded Yingli Green Energy in 1998. At age 51, Miao joined ranks of world's richest solar energy entrepreneurs when Yingli Green Energy, which he founded, listed on the NYSE (NYSE: YGE) in 2007. He ranked 30th at the 2007 Forbes China Rich List with an asset of $1.8 billion.

Miao also serves as the Executive Director on the Photovoltaic Committee of the China Renewable Energies Association, the Vice Chairman of the China Rural Area Electricity Supply Association, the Vice Chairman of the China Cells Industry Association, the Director of the Hebei New and High Technology Industry Association, and the Director of the New Energy Chamber of Commerce of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Yingli Green Energy, who holds the brand Yingli Solar, is a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers. It sells photovoltaic products to Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, South Korea, China, and the United States. (China Daily)