National Bureau Director Conference sets Chinese sports plans for 2015

Yesterday, the 2015 National Sports Bureau Director Conference opened in Beijing, at the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC), and has a second meeting today. The conference sets out general directions of reform for 2015, which is going to see major changes in Chinese domestic sports industry. 

Director of GASC, Mr LIU Peng, made a work report, summarizing achievements in this year’s industry development and work. The conference also outlines aspects of reforms for 2015, which is heavily reported by Chinese media.  

According to the plans, China aims at improving the nation’s football, basketball and volleyball sports as a whole, and will change the current managing and operational system for football and a few less popular sports such as motor racing, in order to work against disadvantages of the current sports managing system. 

Mr Liu said that 2015 would be the final year of the 12th five-year plan and that it would be the time to witness results of the reform as planned.  

China planned this reform for the sports industry as early as 2000, five years ago. During the second half of 2014, the State Council announced another plans for the industry’s growth, i.e. the RMB5 trillion goal, which is intended to make sports industry a new force for China’s economic growth. 

There are four tasks in 2015, as set out at the conference. As described on SportsFeatures.com, by Laura Walden, these tasks are “upgrading nationwide fitness to a strategic level and further enhancing the breadth and depth of mass sports; further enhancing the comprehensive strength of competitive sports, preparing for the Rio Olympic Games, renovating administrative systems, hosting national games successfully and improving the level of football, basketball and volleyball; accelerating the development of the sports industry, promoting sports consumption, and implementing the Opinions of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption.”