Mowbray said he was happy with Zheng Zhi's display on his debut, adding that he believed the Chinacaptain would be comfortable with Celtic's style of play.
Few among the visiting support would have predicted that Celtic manager Tony Mowbray would hand Chinacaptain Zheng Zhi his debut, while Lee Naylor made his first start of the season.
The trawler captain's release could have prompted China to retire, content that Mr Kan's government had been made to look weak despite apparently reckless behaviour on the part of the fishing boat.
Last fall relations between Beijing and Tokyo reached their worst point in years after Japan detained the Chinese captain of a fishing boat that had collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels in a disputed stretch of the East China Sea.