Liang Wenchong.

"Winning a big tournament like this is really my biggest aim, the next step in my career," he said. "I've had a lot of high finishes, but I'd love to be in the mix on Sunday and it would be great to win."

Kennedy had seven birdies and just one bogey in an impressive round. The 36-year-old has had a consistent season on OneAsia and sits 20th on the Order of Merit after top-10 finishes at the Luxehills Chengdu Open in China and the Thailand Open.

"It's great to get off to a good start as it should help you be in contention by the weekend. It eases your mind as you don't have to push for shots and be forced into unnecessary mistakes," said Kennedy, who has played much of his career in Asia.

"The rough is definitely up from the last time I played two years ago, but this course lends itself to birdies if you're in a good position. The premium this week is to give yourself a chance by hitting the fairways with your tee-shots."

Stolz, who won the 2004 Michelin Championship at Las Vegas on the PGA Tour, started with a bogey and a birdie and was even-par through the front nine before the 40-year-old lit up the back nine with birdies at 10, 12 and four in a row from 14.

Liang, who sits second in the OneAsia Order of Merit, started on the back nine and had a rollercoaster opening round that included an eagle at 13, a double-bogey at four, five birdies and two bogeys.

"I had a busy lead-up to this event which included travelling to Zhongshan to carry the Asian Games torch on Wednesday, so I haven't been 100 per cent focused, but three-under is okay for this round," said Liang, seeking his fourth OneAsia title.

"This week is very important for me in terms of winning the OneAsia Order of Merit as it will be even more difficult to get a good result in the last two events in Australia. Even runner-up may not be enough so I will try my best to win this week."

Big-hitting Yuan Hao, the 2005 champion, and Wu Weihuang, who won last year's Dell Championship on the China Tour, were the next-best local performers with 69, while 2006 champion Zhang Lianwei carded a 71.

Along with large contingents from China, Australia and Korea, the field includes six players each from Thailand and Chinese Taipei, five from New Zealand and a further eight nationalities.

The Midea China Classic is the eighth of 10 OneAsia events in the circuit's second season. The tournament purse has doubled to US$1 million on the OneAsia platform due to the continued sponsorship support from the Midea Group for the sixth consecutive year.

The Midea China Classic is being showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.