China's sports industry is expected to account for 0.7 percent of the GDP with an added value of 400 billion yuan (about 62 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015, which are the highest figures so far in its development and basically meet the goal set by the 12th "Five-Year Plan".
This was disclosed earlier this month by Feng Jianzhong, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sport of China.
Feng attributed the achievement to government support, huge capital input from all sectors, and enthusiasm among the public to participate in sports.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
Although China's sports industry has grown by leaps and bounds, it is, compared with those of the developed countries, still in its infancy and requires nutrients.
Up to 2014, the total value of China's sports industry was 320 billion yuan (about 50 billion dollars), accounting for 0.6 percent of the GDP, while in the United States, the ratio was around 3 percent. And some other developed countries had also surpassed 1 percent years ago.
The shinning point is that China has become the world's largest sports goods manufacturer, and some products are named after world champions, for example the "gymnastic prince" Li Ning. But the brand value is still not as competitive as Nike or Adidas. And manufacturing is not the most profitable sector in the sport industry.
The sports entertainment business plays a leading role in the sports industry, stimulating the development of related sectors, such as sports sponsorship, TV relay, sports media, sports advertising, sports lottery and etc.. In these areas, China is still lagging far behind.
In other words, falling behind could mean great potential. The Chinese economy has been growing fast for the past three decades and has become the largest in the world by some measures. There is no concrete excuse for the sports industry to make such a little contribution. In a sense, China's sports industry is a "gold mine" which has not been fully tapped.
RETROSPECTION
In retrospect, sports were run by the government in the era of planned economy. The strengths of such a system are evident in yielding gold medals, which reached the peak in 2008 when host China topped the tally with 51 gold medals at the Beijing Summer Olympics. But the system makes it harder for the market to grow.
In the past three decades, many Chinese industries have embraced marketization and globalization. But the sports industry did not catch up with the trend. Although in 1994, China brought in the professional league system for its football as a test for sports reform, few Chinese people regards the test as a successful one.
