Sports are driving China’s growth story in a new era – Opinion

In the 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country’s sports industry has evolved from humble beginnings to a major player. From Olympic victories to a thriving sports culture, China’s achievements underscore the country’s growth and commitment to excellence. This progress reflects not only the success of athletes but also the broader strength and ambition of the nation.

China won its first Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984 thanks to Xu Haifeng’s shooting skills, and surpassed the 300-gold-medal mark in Paris. After competing with developed countries in 11 Olympic Games, China has become one of the top medal-winning nations at the Games.

These achievements not only strengthened China’s self-confidence, but also demonstrated the great achievements it has made since the beginning of reform and opening up. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China has sought to integrate the resource mobilization system with the market mechanism, giving proportional play to the government, the market and society, while developing competitive sports.

The development of competitive sports promotes recreational sports and the sports industry, creating a vicious circle of sports development.

Participating in and watching high-level sporting events has become part of Chinese life. For example, marathons have become increasingly popular in China in recent years, with more than 120 Chinese amateur marathoners competing in the Paris Olympic Marathon. For the first time in history, the public has been invited to witness an Olympic sport.

In addition to watching the Olympics on TV at home, many Chinese also watched them on big screens. This was made possible by a collaboration between one of China’s leading film companies and state broadcaster CCTV to broadcast the Olympics live in cinemas across the country.

In addition, sales of sports products in China, especially those printed with “2024 Paris Olympics” and national team jerseys, increased rapidly during the Games. Reservations of sports venues and sales of household appliances, audio equipment and snacks also increased. The “Olympic economy” has unleashed the potential of many sectors, showing that sports have become a facilitator of socio-economic development. Therefore, the role of sports should be fully utilized in the development of China’s modernization.

First, sports should help people lead a better life. Sports can improve people’s physical and mental health, enhance their adaptability, and promote social interaction. China has been using the national fitness campaign as a strategy since 2014 to improve people’s physical health, which reflects the central leadership’s commitment to putting people and their health first.

The country has established a relatively solid public service system to promote sports and physical fitness in both rural and urban areas. With increasing investment in the sports sector, mass sports are becoming more diversified, the area of ​​sports facilities per capita is constantly increasing, and more and more people are becoming competent and enthusiastic enough to practice competitive sports and/or engage in fitness activities.

However, public fitness services remain unsustainable. Therefore, the government should establish a physical education system suitable for people of different ages and backgrounds, especially to make physical activity a part of the daily life of teenagers.

The government should also create a social environment in which people can play sports to encourage more people to participate in sports or other forms of physical activity, while promoting the sustainable development of public fitness services in both urban and rural areas, especially in areas with high population density.

Local governments and markets should also make efforts to improve supply chains in the sports sector and guarantee the supply of high-quality sports products and services.

Second, sports should be further integrated into the country’s overall socio-economic development. The sports industry is an emerging and green industry that can promote innovation, increase domestic demand and help improve the economic structure.

The sports industry is expanding in scale and quality, playing a significant role in targeted work on poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. A number of rural sports activities have boosted tourism development and increased employment in many areas, although the sports industry still needs time to become a pillar of the Chinese economy.

In addition, in order to enhance the competitiveness of China’s sporting goods enterprises, the authorities should create a high-level business environment governed by the rule of law, and cultivate and develop leading enterprises. They should also establish a modern industrial system, adopting new business models and expanding the industrial chain.

It is also necessary to promote “sport plus tourism” by integrating the sports, tourism, culture, education and media sectors, and to encourage innovation in sports technologies by developing new technologies.

The author is an associate professor at the School of Economics and Management, Shanghai University of Sport. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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