China's General Administration of Sport (GAS) plans to enhance the development of the country's sports industry, vowing to build or rebuild over 1,000 sports parks across the country during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) to ensure more people can participate in sports.
The announcement comes as China is increasing investment in promoting sports and national fitness programs, aiming to build a sports powerhouse in the long term. It also comes as the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games has renewed enthusiasm for sports among the Chinese public and highlighted China's steady progress in promoting sports.
Qiu Ru, an official from the GAS, said during a media briefing held by the State Council Information Office on Wednesday that China has invested more than 13.5 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) in recent years in the construction of sports facilities.
As of the end of 2020, the number of sports venues has increased by 89.7 percent over the 2017 levels, and the total area of sporting venues had increased by 33.4 percent.
Aside from increasing the number of venues, the GAC has allocated nearly 4.7 billion yuan on refurbishing over 1,000 facilities to support free or low-cost public access. The facilities have benefited up to 200 million people each year, said Qiu.
The GAC plans to focus its funding allocation to sports infrastructure that directly benefits the general public. In addition, the GAC is also planning to cooperate with schools and open their sports facilities to the public, especially local residents.
Qiu noted that relevant work will be done under the guidance of a national fitness outline issued by the State Council, the cabinet, in August 2021.
The outline called for the expansion of the area of national sports venues and completing the construction of unfinished sports facilities in 5,000 townships.
By 2025, the percentage of people who frequently participate in sports will reach 38.5 percent, which is estimated to lift the market value of China's sports industry to 5 trillion yuan, said the outline.
Global Times
