China's major sports service trade surges over 30 percent year on year

China's imports and exports of major sports services increased by 31.1 percent year on year in 2024, according to a latest report on the development of China's sports service trade in 2024.

According to the report released by the Economic Department of the State General Administration of Sport (SGAS) on Thursday, the total imports and exports of China's major sports service trade in 2024 reached 69.342 billion yuan (about 9.56 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 16.455 billion yuan (about 2.27 billion U.S. dollars) compared to the previous year.

Yang Xuedong, director of the Economic Department under the SGAS, stated that sports service trade has entered a phase of rapid growth, with exports posting particularly outstanding performance.

"The total of imports and exports has reached its highest level in the past five years, entering a rapid growth phase. In particular, China's sports service trade exports have achieved remarkable results, with the value of exports hitting a record high and surging 43.5 percent year on year. The simultaneous increase in scale and growth rate fully demonstrates that China's service products have gained international market recognition, with their competitiveness keeping enhancing," Yang said.

It was reported that China's major sports service trade includes five categories: performances of professional sports competitions, sports event sponsorship， copyright transactions, internet sports services, and sports tourism. In 2024, the import and export value of sports tourism trade reached 57.766 billion yuan (about 7.96 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 31.9 percent.

"Previously, sports tourism dominated as a single category, but now other sectors are developing rapidly, leading to a more balanced structure. The most notable category is sports service trade related to events, such as sports event sponsorship, which accounted for nearly 8 percent in 2024," said Wang Xueli, director of the Research Center for Development of the Sports Industry at Tsinghua University.

Experts noted that the intensive hosting of global sports events in 2024 significantly boosted enthusiasm of Chinese tourists for overseas sports event travel. 

Meanwhile, China's continuous optimization of transit visa-free policies has greatly enhanced the convenience for international tourists to come to China for watching and participating in events, generating more exports in sports tourism services.

"The sports event economy has driven vigorous development in areas such as professional sports events, sports event sponsorship, and sports copyright transactions. It plays an important role in promoting domestic sports consumption, advancing high-quality economic development, and building a new development pattern, injecting new vitality into our global economic cooperation and cultural exchanges," said Yang.

China's major sports service trade surges over 30 percent year on year

The World Data Organization (WDO) was formally established in Beijing on Monday, marking a significant step toward global cooperation on data development and governance.

Around 500 people attended the inaugural assembly of the WDO, including representatives of the organization's members, Chinese and international scientists and technologists, government officials, and heads of international organizations.

As a professional, non-governmental and non-profit international body voluntarily established by relevant entities and individuals in the global data sector, the WDO aims to provide a platform for global data collaboration that is practice-oriented, industry-focused and designed for multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation.

"Data can drive innovation, strengthen policy making, and accelerate scientific progress, but only if access is equitable and capacity is built, where it is needed most," Muhammadou M.O. Kah, chair of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development, and vice chair of the UN Data Governance Working Group said at the meeting.

China's digital infrastructure has seen rapid advancement. By mid-2025, the country had built over 4.8 million 5G base stations, with total computing power ranking second globally.

"We make cell phone chip sets. So we're very interested in data and China, especially with making sure that 5G and then looking forward to 6G networks are done really well," said Jonathan Gerald Thomason from Qualcomm Wireless Ltd.

"Having the opportunity to have secure and rule-based data system is very important. So I think establishing World Data Organization is a good one," said Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.

With its headquarters in Beijing, the WDO, is the first professional international organization focused on advancing data development and governance practices.

It is expected that by 2030, the organization will become an internationally influential platform and a trusted hub in the data field.

World Data Organization launched in Beijing to bridge global data divide