The number of outdoor sports participants in China exceeds 500 million, with the total scale of the outdoor sports industry reaching approximately 3.17 trillion yuan (about 474 billion U.S. dollars), according to the China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report (2025-2026), released at the opening of the 2026 China Outdoor Sports Industry Conference on Friday.
According to statistics from the Sports Economy Department of the General Administration of Sport, outdoor sports are gaining popularity in third- and fourth-tier cities, where strong consumer enthusiasm has driven consumption to 42 percent of the national total.
Demographically, outdoor sports consumers are relatively evenly distributed across age groups and genders. People aged 19-49 account for 76.16 percent of all consumers, while women and men make up 50.82 percent and 49.18 percent, respectively.
First held in 2023, the China Outdoor Sports Industry Conference is now in its fourth edition. Featuring five major sections including opening ceremony, thematic activities, sports shows, resource promotions and competitions, the conference highlights four key themes: new experiences, new settings, new integration, and new technologies.
China's outdoor sports participants exceed 500 mln: report
Four Chinese government departments have urged major automakers to resist irrational competition, strengthen management of innovative vehicle designs and research and development testing and validation, and ensure product safety, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Friday.
The call came at a meeting Thursday with representatives from more than 30 major automakers, organized by relevant offices under the MIIT, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation.
Officials outlined requirements in a draft circular on strengthening the management of innovative vehicle designs and research and development testing and validation, and reported on problems identified during previous supervisory inspections.
The meeting urged automakers to fulfill their primary responsibility for product safety, strengthen compliance, and conduct thorough safety assessments and research and development testing and validation to eliminate potential safety risks.
It also called for truthful and objective marketing, warning against false, exaggerated or misleading claims, promotional activities depicting traffic violations, or messages encouraging drivers to neglect their responsibility for safe driving.
Automakers were also asked to strengthen safety safeguards for intelligent connected new energy vehicles, improve safety assessment and testing management systems, strengthen production conformity assurance systems, and tighten supply chain oversight.
Relevant authorities of the four departments will strengthen coordination, advance a special campaign to improve product quality, release and implement the circular as soon as possible, and accelerate the formulation and revision of relevant standards.
They will also continue inspections of major automakers, deal firmly with companies found to have problems in accordance with laws and regulations, and make their cases public, according to the MIIT.
China urges automakers to resist irrational competition, ensure product safety
