Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Olympic fever boosts niche sports in China

China

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration -:-
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -:-
Â
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      China

      China

      Olympic fever boosts niche sports in China

      2024-08-11 18:51 Last Updated At:19:37

      Niche sports like surfing are gaining popularity and becoming new favorites for entertainment and fitness in China, as the Paris Olympic Games is heating up people's enthusiasm for sports.

      Surfing lovers in Beijing are discovering a new space for indulging themselves this summer to avoid getting baked in the sun.

      Driven by the Paris 2024, indoor surfing is coming into vogue nowadays, which enables city dwellers to have fun in "sea waves" without going to seaside. Coaches will lead green hands to discover the delights in surfing.

      "Surfing parks are rare in downtown areas, and almost all are on seaside. And, it might be bothersome for us to go to the seaside to experience sea waves," said Hao Jie, manager of a surf park.

      Hao said this is an Olympic effect, but it will need more time to flourish fully.

      "Since being included as an Olympic sport in 2020, surfing has been gaining popularity. The Paris Olympics has attracted more Chinese people with Yang Siqi becoming the nation's first female surfer to compete at the Games. I hope more people would jump into the waves to join her," he said.

      Apart from indoor surfing, rock-climbing and archery are also becoming new favorites for niche sports enthusiasts in China. Data from JD.com e-commerce platform show that in the first half of 2024, purchases of surfing swim wear in China jumped 473 percent year-on-year, and that of rock-climbing helmets, up 42 percent.

      "It's no challenge for me if it is a sport that everyone can handle. Niche sports are more adventurous and I'd like to try them," said Liu Yuxuan, a niche sports enthusiast.

      "As a young people, I prefer exciting sports like skiing," said Dong Chengzhe, another enthusiast.

      Boosted by massive sporting events such as the Olympic Games, it is believed that niche sports have started gaining ground in China and will bring more vitality to the country's sports consumption market.

      Olympic fever boosts niche sports in China

      Olympic fever boosts niche sports in China

      Next Article

      Potential China-US trade deal could benefit world economy: British entrepreneur

      2025-01-23 02:00 Last Updated At:02:17

      A potential trade deal between United States and China, the world's two largest economies, could benefit not only the two sides but also the global economy as a whole, said renowned British entrepreneur Martin Sorrell on Tuesday.

      In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sideline of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sorrell, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the digital advertising and marketing services provider S4 Capital, shared his perspective on the evolving global economic landscape.

      He said that the world is facing slower economic growth and highlighted the U.S. and China as key players for driving global economic expansion.

      "You look at the world in a different way. You focus on where the growth is. So where's the growth going to be? The U.S. is going to be strong. The U.S. economy, S and P 500 Earnings this year will be up 11 percent, that's the forecast; next year, 7 percent. That's the biggest determinant of advertising growth is corporate profitability be strong, so the U.S. will be strong. Asia, very strong. If you're big in China, like Apple or Tesla, or indeed LV, you want to be bigger; If you are small in China or underweight, you probably want to be bigger. So with that one caveat, China is obviously remains really important," said Sorrell.

      Donald Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, has repeatedly vowed to implement additional tariffs on a broad range of trading partners, including China.

      Noting that the combined GDP of the U.S. and China has reached 46 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for over 40 percent of the global total of 106 trillion U.S. dollars, Sorrell suggested that Trump's business instincts could lead him to negotiate a trade deal with China, benefiting both countries and the global economy.

      "The U.S. is 28 trillion [U.S. dollars]; China, 18 trillion out of 106 [trillion], so 46 [trillion], by far the biggest part of the world economy. I think Europe is about 18 [trillion] as a whole, but no individual countries like this. So that's the most important issue. There seems to be a bit of delay in relation in considering Chinese tariffs, may be going first on Canada and Mexico rather than China. So maybe we'll see, maybe there is the hope of a deal. And I hope there will be a deal, because I think it will be good for the world, and for obviously, for both economists, they would if it happens. President Trump wrote the book, the Art of the Deal, and he's a negotiator, and he wants to do the best financially for America, and financially for America maybe a deal with China in trade is the best thing," he said.

      In terms of China's economic outlook, Sorrell said he expects the Chinese economy to strengthen, adding that he thinks China will shift its trade policy to focus more on the markets that take up nearly 60 percent of the global GDP.

      "My view is that it is a multipolar world. And the Americans, I can say this as British, the Americans and indeed the British have got to understand that the plates are shifting, that the Global South, the BRICS, the Next 11 are becoming more important. I look forward to a world which will be not dominated by the West, the hegemonic West, or the U.S., but more balanced and more nuanced. And I think that's what we have to get used to. I expect the Chinese economy to strengthen. China was going to alter its trade policy to emphasize that 60 trillion that is outside China and the U.S. I said it was 46 [trillion]. the world is 106. So there's 60 trillion of GDP in Latin America, in Africa, in Europe, in Asia Pacific that China can develop," said Sorrell.

      Potential China-US trade deal could benefit world economy: British entrepreneur

      Potential China-US trade deal could benefit world economy: British entrepreneur

      Recommended Articles
      Hot · Posts