Published by ChinaMNC · Cenxi

China Opens Sports Event Market: Key Takeaways for Foreign Founders

China's State Council has issued new guidelines to develop its sports event industry. For foreign founders, this signals expanding opportunities in event operation, related services, and cross-border collaboration. Here's what you need to know.

China's New Push to Develop Sports Events: What Foreign Founders Should Know

The General Office of China's State Council has released a policy opinion aimed at boosting the sports event sector to stimulate consumption and foster new economic growth drivers. For foreign entrepreneurs, this policy outlines a framework that could create new business avenues in event organization, supporting services, and international partnerships. While the document sets broad national direction, it emphasizes market-based development and social participation, which may translate into opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises.

Policy Objectives and Timeline

The policy sets a goal for 2030: to basically establish a modern sports event system with Chinese characteristics, cultivate a number of globally influential events, significantly enhance industry coordination, and effectively stimulate event-related consumption. This long-term vision suggests sustained government attention to the sector, potentially offering a stable environment for business planning.

Expanding Event Categories and Market Access

The guidelines cover various types of sports events:

• Competitive events: Annual national event plans will be published, and qualified localities are supported to host or co-host events. Major comprehensive games like the National Games and National Winter Games will continue, along with national单项 events, aiming to expand brand influence.
• Professional leagues: A tiered professional event system will be built, with clear standards and connections to amateur events. Key sports include football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, ice hockey, baseball, and Go. High-level professional events in tennis, sailing, boxing, billiards, auto racing, motorcycling, and cycling are also encouraged. Importantly, the policy encourages domestic and foreign quality capital to invest in professional events at all levels, and to legally create new professional events and engage in talent training, agency services, and market development.
• Amateur and grassroots events: Localities are encouraged to leverage cultural and resource endowments, mobilize social forces, and cultivate popular amateur events. Traditional and emerging trendy sports are promoted, and the youth event system will be improved.

International Cooperation and Facilitation

The policy emphasizes international engagement. It calls for stronger communication with international sports organizations, coordinated introduction of high-level international events, and support for qualified localities to host them. Measures to facilitate foreign participation include improving convenience for foreigners coming to China to compete or watch events, and for equipment entry and exit, including dedicated channels at customs. Domestic brand events are encouraged to "go global," expand overseas sponsorship, and explore media rights markets. For foreign founders, this could mean easier logistics for organizing international events or participating in the Chinese market.

Integration with Tourism, Commerce, and Technology

The guidelines promote deep integration of sports events with culture, tourism, commerce, and technology:

• Culture and tourism: Support for immersive event experiences using landmarks and creative districts, showcasing rural scenery and cultural heritage. Cultural products like films, short videos, and music related to sports events are encouraged. Brand activities such as "Travel with Events" and "Enjoy Exciting Events, Taste Chinese Cuisine" are supported.
• Commerce: International consumption center cities and pilot cities for sports consumption and event economy are encouraged to host major international events. New models like "event + expo" are promoted. Commercial brands can launch co-branded and derivative products through event licensing. Businesses are encouraged to offer exclusive discounts for ticket holders to boost secondary consumption. The scale of event-related services trade—tourism, sponsorship, copyright transactions—is to be expanded.
• Technology: Enterprises are encouraged to innovate services and products, including ice and snow equipment, smart wearables, and high-performance sports flooring. New technologies like IoT, big data, AI, digital twins, and satellite navigation will be applied in event organization to enhance viewing experiences.

Consumption Scenarios and Experience

Pilot programs for sports consumption and event economy will be deepened. Cities piloting new consumption models are supported to expand event consumption functions and create integrated commercial, tourism, cultural, sports, and health consumption scenarios. Localities can develop "second venues" for watching events and themed accommodation and dining. Enterprises and social organizations are encouraged to create composite consumption scenarios combining cultural promotion, tourism, souvenirs, and viewing services. Measures to improve consumer experience include integrating event schedules, venues, transport, and weather information into one-stop services, and improving multilingual signage, guides, and payment services for foreign spectators.

Business Environment and Support

The policy aims to strengthen market entities:

• Cultivate competitive, professional event operators, supporting enterprises from culture/media, fitness, equipment manufacturing, and tech innovation to participate in hosting and operations.
• Protect event broadcasting copyrights, encourage cooperation between copyright holders and media/platforms for legal revenue from broadcasting and sponsorship rights.
• Localities may, under national rules, research incentive policies for event attraction, scenario innovation, and job creation.

Venue and facility improvements are also addressed: support for community fitness facilities, high-quality outdoor sports destinations (ice/snow, mountain, aviation, water), and innovative venue management with integrated design-build-operate models, smart upgrades, and accessibility features. Social forces are encouraged to participate in venue operations.

Talent development includes encouraging universities to offer sports economics and management, event management, and sports tourism programs; nurturing new professions like sports data analysts and venue safety officers; and supporting the introduction of foreign international event operation and management talent.

Standards and monitoring will be strengthened, with event guidelines, safety standards, and a unified consumption monitoring method. Service management will be optimized: public resources like mountains and roads will be opened for events via a negative list approach; approval processes will be streamlined; security capacity will be classified; and financial support will be guided via monetary policy tools, with encouragement for insurers to offer event-related accident and liability products.

Event governance and safety are emphasized: local hosting should be evaluated and affordable, promoting green and simple events; high-risk events will be regulated; comprehensive management of event discipline and fan culture will be deepened; and emergency response systems, including a "circuit breaker" mechanism, will be improved.

Implications for Foreign Founders

For foreign entrepreneurs looking to register or operate a company in China, this policy signals a more open and structured sports event market. Opportunities may arise in event organization, especially with foreign capital explicitly encouraged to invest in professional events; in supporting services like event technology, equipment, tourism, and media; and in international event introduction and facilitation. However, the policy is a national framework, and specific implementation will depend on local regulations and approvals. Foreign founders should monitor local government announcements and consider partnering with local entities to navigate the regulatory landscape.

Call to Action: Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.