China Sets Ambitious 7 Trillion Yuan Sports Industry Target for 2030
China’s General Administration of Sport has announced its goal to grow the total scale of the sports industry to exceed 7 trillion yuan (approximately $980 billion) by 2030, positioning the sector as a key driver of domestic demand and national economic growth. The target was unveiled by Gao Zhidan, Director of the General Administration of Sport, at a State Council Information Office press conference on September 3, according to Xinhua News.
“During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Sports Administration will more proactively leverage sports’ important role in the strategy of expanding domestic demand, activate sports consumption potential, promote sports industry development, and strive to achieve the goal of the total sports industry scale exceeding 7 trillion yuan by 2030,” Gao said at the press conference, which was part of the “Kickoff of the 15th Five-Year Plan” series.
From Policy Paper to National Strategy
The 7 trillion yuan target represents a significant escalation from the previous five-year goal. China’s sports industry reached 5.12 trillion yuan in total scale in 2025, surpassing the 5 trillion yuan target set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). The new ambition implies approximately 37% growth over five years.
The target was first formally established in September 2025 through State Council Document No. 31, the “Opinions on Releasing Sports Consumption Potential and Further Promoting High-Quality Development of the Sports Industry.” It was subsequently incorporated into the “Sports Powerhouse Construction 15th Five-Year Plan,” which was approved by the State Council and issued by the General Administration of Sport in July 2026, as reported by Guangming Daily.
This marks the first national-level special plan themed on “sports powerhouse,” elevating sports from a single industry to a coordinated national strategy. The plan sets five core indicators for 2030: per capita sports venue area of approximately 4 square meters, roughly 40% of the population regularly participating in exercise, a national physical fitness excellence rate of 31.1%, maintaining world champion counts at the forefront, and the sports industry total scale exceeding 7 trillion yuan.
Sports Consumption Shows Resilience Amid Economic Pressure
The ambitious target comes at a time when sports consumption has demonstrated remarkable resilience despite broader economic headwinds. In the first half of 2026, social retail sales grew only 1.3% year-on-year, yet revenue of sports industry enterprises above designated size grew 11.9% in the first five months, according to analysis of the press conference. Culture and sports service platform transaction volume grew 9.7% over the same period.
The 2024-2025 ice and snow season proved particularly strong, with 292 million people participating in ice and snow sports and the ice-snow economy exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the first time. This momentum underpins the administration’s confidence in achieving the new target.
Key Strategies: Events, Outdoor Sports, and Innovation
Gao outlined several strategic priorities to drive industry growth. The administration will focus on developing the event economy, enriching event consumption scenarios, and supporting the creation of high-quality self-owned event brands. As Gao put it, the goal is to transform event “traffic” into local economic “increment,” as CCTV News reported.
The plan also emphasizes improving the modern sports industry system, promoting diversified development of the fitness and leisure industry, and creating sports national products with technological content. Integrated development of commerce, tourism, culture, sports, and health sectors is another key focus.
Outdoor sports will receive particular attention, with the administration encouraging local governments to leverage their resource advantages and develop outdoor activities according to local conditions. The plan calls for building 100 high-quality outdoor sports destinations nationwide, according to Yang Xuedong, Director of the Sports Economy Department, who spoke at the same press conference.
Infrastructure Expansion to Support Growth
Behind the industry targets lies a significant infrastructure expansion program. By the end of 2025, China had 5,003,700 sports venues nationwide, with per capita sports venue area reaching 3.11 square meters—up from 2.2 square meters at the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Some 90.4% of residents aged 19 and above reported having sports facilities within a 15-minute walk or ride.
The new plan aims to raise per capita venue area to approximately 4 square meters by 2030, a nearly 30% increase that will require building or renovating roughly 128,000 hectares of sports venues. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will construct or upgrade more than 5,000 small (micro) sports parks, small fitness centers, multi-functional sports fields, and public skating rinks, as Xinhua News reported.
Broader Strategic Significance
The sports industry push is part of a wider effort to position sports as a pillar of China’s economic transformation. The “Sports Powerhouse Construction 15th Five-Year Plan” is the first sports-focused plan to be elevated to a national-level special plan, reflecting sports’ integration into broader national strategies including health, culture, and regional development.
According to Guangming Daily’s interpretation of the plan, the administration will also focus on developing the outdoor economy and ice-snow economy, promoting sports industry upgrades through technology and innovation, and supporting the creation of competitive domestic sports brands.
The sports goods market, which reached 2.49 trillion yuan in 2025, is expected to benefit from these initiatives as the administration pushes for greater domestic innovation and brand development in sports equipment and apparel.
What to Watch For
As China embarks on this ambitious five-year journey, several factors will determine whether the 7 trillion yuan target is achievable. The resilience of sports consumption amid broader economic slowdown will be a key indicator, as will the success of efforts to develop the event economy and outdoor sports infrastructure.
The upcoming Nagoya Asian Games and the Los Angeles Olympics and Alpine Winter Olympics will test China’s competitive sports ambitions, while the implementation of the “Sports Powerhouse” plan across provincial and municipal governments will determine how effectively national targets translate into local action.
With sports consumption emerging as one of the few bright spots in China’s domestic demand landscape, the sector’s trajectory over the next five years will be closely watched by economists and policymakers alike.