From Budding to Developing: The History of China’s Sport Industry Policy.

The sport industry is an emerging industry in China. The aims of this paper are to explore the history of China’s sport industry policies and to reveal existing problems and their causes in these policies. In this qualitative research, documentary analysis and in-depth interviews of 15 interviewees were conducted. It is concluded that the history of sport industry polices in China has undergone roughly four stages: budding (1978–1992), exploration (1992–1998), integration (1998–2008), and developing (2008 onwards). The Chinese sport industry policies have experienced numerous problems. First, the policy goals are hollow, unspecific, and undefined. Second, the policies lack pertinence. Third, their value standard deviates from the constraint condition. Fourth, they lack continuity and stability. The complicated reasons for these problems include factors related to the sport management system, the policy value orientation of government, and the interest game between stakeholders throughout the policy process. This paper, therefore, presents suggestions for China’s sport industry policies. First, the sports market should be opened gradually. Second, the government should increase policy support. Third, the government should support and regulate the development of professional sports. Fourth, the government should promote the construction of a national and local sport industry base. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of International Journal of the History of Sport is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)