China's sports services trade surpassed 74.87 billion yuan (about 11.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up 5.53 billion yuan from the previous year, the General Administration of Sport of China said on Thursday.
The total value of imports and exports in sports services in 2025 rose 7.98 percent year on year, reflecting a steady upward trend, according to the report released by the administration at the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing.
Wang Xueli, director of the Center for Sports Industry Development Research at Tsinghua University, said the growth was particularly remarkable, given that fewer major international sporting events were held in China last year.
"Even in 2025, a year largely lacking major international events, or what we often call an 'off year,' we still achieved very solid growth. This reflects the growing internal momentum behind China's sports services trade, as well as the sector's shift away from a heavy reliance on major competitions. Our sports event economy is gaining ground, and new growth engines are emerging to drive China's sports services trade forward," said Wang.
The report also showed a sharp rise in exports, driven by China's growing capacity to host international events, the marketization of professional sports, the expanding global influence of its sports industry, and greater convenience for inbound sports consumption.
Sports services exports jumped from 1.68 billion yuan in 2024 to 19.03 billion yuan in 2025, raising their share of total services trade from 2.42 percent to 25.42 percent. The trade deficit narrowed significantly over the same period, falling from nearly 66 billion yuan in 2024 to less than 37 billion yuan in 2025.
The 2026 CIFTIS is taking place from Wednesday to Sunday in Beijing, as China steps up efforts to expand opening-up in services trade at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The fair has drawn participants from 90 countries, regions and international organizations, with more than 1,800 companies exhibiting on-site.
China's sports services trade gains steam with strong domestic demand
The 2026 China Business Report, released on Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), revealed a significant rebound in business confidence among its surveyed member companies operating in China.
Business confidence bounced back markedly, as 58 percent of respondents expressed optimism about China's five-year business outlook, up 17 percentage points year on year, the report said.
Profitability rebounded to its highest level since 2019, with 78 percent of respondents profitable in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points from the 2024 level, according to the report.
As business confidence rebounded and more companies reported profits, investment confidence in China also strengthened, resulting in 28 percent of respondents increasing investment in China last year, the highest level in four years.
Improved market sentiment is also reflected in a positive assessment of China's business environment. Fifty-five percent of surveyed companies said the business environment in China is transparent, up 7 percentage points year on year.
Jeffrey Lehman, chair of AmCham Shanghai, attributed the positive change to eased bilateral tensions and shared expectations for more stable and reciprocal economic and trade relationship, as the two leaders of states reaffirmed multiple times in the past year.
"We do our surveys In June, and so in June of 2025, there was a lot of anxiety among our members about the geopolitical situation. After that, we had the meeting of the leaders in Busan. We had the summit in Beijing in May, the agreement between the two countries that they would try to create a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity. And that is very reassuring to our members because that suggests that there will be a stable environment in which they can operate well. If anxiety about geopolitics slips, that means then, that the number one concern is the continuing improvement in the quality of domestic competition," he said.
The report is based on AmCham Shanghai's 2026 China Business Survey of 262 member companies.
AmCham Shanghai report shows sharp rebound in business confidence among member companies
