China's sports industry, an untapped gold mine with immense potential business opportunities has, over the years, caught the eyes of many, mostly inside Chinese sports officials and outside gold rushers. Now, the locked door to the treasury is beginning to open.
Over the past decades, sport in China has largely been built around the planned economy system, a regime known as juguo, or "whole nation", in which the government owns and runs all sports. While the strengths of this system are evident in yielding gold medals, it makes it harder for a free market to grow around sport, and thus, its sports industry to take root.
Although China adopted the notion of professional sports from the West and brought in the league system as early as more than 20 years ago, the professional sport, in essence, has yet to come to existence, since China's sports federations, which run their respective sports league, such as Chinese Super League (CSL) and Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), have been all State-run.
"China's sports industry calls for a reform of the sporting regime.
Despite the fact that China's sports industry has grown by leaps and bounds, it is, comparing with those of the developed countries, still in its infancy and requires nutrients from the "adults".
"Sports industry in the western world is far more established than that of ours. We should keep an open mind and learn from their experiences and expertise.
Over the years, a series of major international sporting events, such as NBA and F1, as well as some global big-time sports management conglomerate have come to China. Not only did they bring the original live games to the local audience, but also expertise in sports business management.