The new James Bond, Daniel Craig, appears to have disappointed some Chinese fans here and in Shanghai as he walked up the red carpet to attend the Chinese premiere of "Casino Royale", the first 007 movie ever to be officially released in the Communist nation.

The British actor along with Bond girl Eva Green, producers Michael Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and director Martin Campbell attended the premiere in both cities.

Although Craig talked with reporters and shook hands with others lining the red carpet, a number of Chinese fans were left high and dry because he didn't spend more time with them.

"He disappointed me, I didn't get a greeting. All he did was look left, centre and right in the direction of the cameras," Liu Tingting, a self-confessed Bond nut, said.

However, Liu said she intends to watch "Casino Royale," which will be the first Bond film she's seen in a movie theatre in China.

Another female fan, Natalia Feng said Craig was not as appealing as Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, whose movies she has watched on pirated DVDs.

Although none of the 20 other 007 films were officially released in China, "Bond is no stranger to Chinese audiences," said Weng Li, of the China Film Group Corporation, one of the movie's two distributors in China.

Close to 500 copies of "Casino Royale" have been distributed across China, the highest ever for an imported film. The movie is expected to rake-in 100 million yuan ($12.8 million).

"The Da Vinci Code" with 105 million yuan and "King Kong" with 102 million yuan were the third and fourth top grossing films in China in 2006.