Unveiling New Horizons for Sports Industry: CIFTIS Sports Services Section 2023 Opened

BEIJING, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 2, 2023, the Sports Services Section of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) kicked off in Beijing's Shougang Park, organized by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, co-organized by Asia Digital Group (ADG). With the theme "Engaging in Sports, Gathering in Beijing", this section aims to promote the trade and cooperation of sports services and facilitate international communication within the sports industry. The event showcased three key highlights: internationalization, industrialization, and technologization, through various activities such as exhibitions, forums, transaction matching, and supporting events.

The Sports Services Thematic Exhibition spans an area of 13,200 square meters. It has attracted almost 400 sports brands from various countries and regions, including France, Australia, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Finland. Concurrently, more than 10 parallel forums and supporting activities took place, engaging over 600 media outlets for coverage and reporting. By offering a variety of innovative exhibitions and facilitating in-depth and diverse industrial exchanges, the CIFTIS has infused fresh momentum into optimizing, upgrading, and fostering high-quality development within the sports services industry.

On the afternoon of September 2, Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Zhang Jiandong, Representative of the 14^th National People's Congress and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, Yang Xuedong, Director of the Sports Economy Department at the General Administration of Sport of China, and Zhao Wen, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, paid a visit to the Sports Services Thematic Exhibition.

They toured various booths, including those hosted by Tianjin BOH Sports Industry Development Co., Ltd., Beijing SANFO Outdoor Products Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongguancun Yanqing Park Investment and Development Co., Ltd., Beijing DongSport Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Pulai Tefeng Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen MicroTeam Information Technology Co., Ltd., and TechnoAlpin Group. Overall, they gave high praises for the exhibition's preparation work.

Accompanying them were Li Jie, Deputy Director of the Sports Lottery Administration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, Shi Fenghua, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Ge Jun, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Zhu Dongfang, President of Asia Digital Group, and Zhang Li, Executive Vice President of Asia Digital Group.

Displaying Cutting-Edge Innovation Achievements and Building a High-Quality Exchange Platform in the Industry

This Sports Services Thematic Exhibition consists of two pavilions and six exhibition areas, offering a comprehensive display of the latest advancements and cutting-edge explorations in the global sports services industry. This exhibition aims to create an international, diverse, and vibrant sports industry experience for the audience.

One of the exhibition areas focuses on smart sports services, featuring intelligent wearables, sports science, training service systems, and sports science applications. Additionally, the AIES Beijing Open, a major sporting event, took place simultaneously, showcasing virtual cycling, rowing with digital intelligence, and national golf as its main attractions. With the help of artificial intelligence, perception and interaction and other technologies, this competition breaks the barriers of time and space, allowing global players to participate remotely. This fosters the accessibility of digital sports competitions to the public, promoting their popularity.

The exhibition area for winter sports services showcased the achievements of the Olympic Winter Games, Olympic venues, winter sports equipment, and various trendy sports projects. Additionally, it presented the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in the Olympic Winter Games and the planning and construction of sports industrial parks and event operations in the post-Olympic era. AIRHOUSE displayed a prefabricated ice hockey track with independent intellectual property rights that is truly cold, ice-ready, and environmentally friendly.

The exhibition area for sports consumption services featured sports fashion brands, personal sports goods, street trend culture, sports nutrition products, and high-end sports equipment. Notably, good family provided innovative solutions for the intelligent operation of parks. SANFO Outdoor showcased the renowned Swiss high-end sports brand X-Bonic, acclaimed for its 800 international technology patents, 788 international awards, and product testing recognition.

The exhibition area for sports equipment manufacturing services included large-scale sports equipment, fitness facilities, and innovative equipment. The Nezha Sports Carnival demonstrated how to create a comprehensive carnival that combines culture, business, tourism, sports, and entertainment. Besides, it highlighted the promotion of sports consumption scenes through the construction of professional, artistic, and diverse sports facilities and venues. IRONMAN showcased innovative sports hardware devices and intelligent software platforms, such as the smart community gym, equipped with intelligent sensors that monitor and correct sports postures in real-time, ensuring safer and more effective training.

The exhibition area for international sports events services showcased international top-level event IPs, ethnic and folk sports events, event marketing and promotion, and sponsors of famous sports clubs. The Beijing Karting Sports Association presented the development of karting, technology and competition cooperation, regional collaboration, and international exchange. They even brought the track into the exhibition hall. What's more, the exhibition area covered sports integration services such as sports culture, sports tourism, sports education, sports lottery, and outdoor life. Beijing Xuezoo Technology Co., Ltd. showcased Gee Cool and "i+", sports scene service platforms. Gee Cool covers 17 types of interests and trendy sports, providing users with AI sports assistants, discounted ticketing, and other services.

Focusing on New Trends to Facilitate the Development of Sports Services Trade

Four forums were held, including one main forum and three sub-forums. On the afternoon of September 2, the Main Forum of the Sports Services Section was unveiled as scheduled. The main forum aimed to facilitate the integration of international sports resources and drive the development of China's sports industry. It attracted the participation of nearly 300 experts from over 30 countries and regions worldwide. The invited attendees included politicians, authoritative international sports organizations, sports federations, top experts and scholars, sports champions, celebrities, and more. During the event, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on current hot topics in sports, such as the digital development of sports, new sports consumption trends, sports manufacturing, and the growth of the swimming industry. Through a combination of keynote speeches, exchanges, and case studies, China's sports services were effectively promoted to global audience. This multi-faceted approach aimed to foster international exchanges and cooperation in the global sports services industry while also stimulating the development of international sports services trade.

Over 40 guests delivered important speeches, offering advice and suggestions for the high-quality development of the global sports industry. They were Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Zhang Jiandong, Representative of the 14^th National People's Congress and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, Zhao Wen, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Yang Xuedong, Director of the Sports Economy Department at the General Administration of Sport of China, Rupert Daniels, Director of Services and Skills at the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom, Ivo Ferriani, Member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee, Gianni Merlo, President of the Association of International Sporting Press, Guo Jingjing, Olympic Diving Champion and Member of the FINA Diving Technical Committee, Sui Jianshuang, Silver Medalist of Olympic All-Around Gymnastics in the Beijing Olympic Games, Wang Xiaoyu, Special Expert of the World Tourism Cities Federation and Special Researcher of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Norbert Ducrot, Founder and Chairman of Wavelandes from France, and Ben Barker, Managing Director of Extreme Destinations of EXTREME.

Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, emphasized the immense potential for development within China's sports services trade during his speech. With the hosting of the Chengdu Universiade and the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, the sports services trade in China is set to gain substantial momentum. Over the years, the Sports Services Section has become a vital platform for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints within the sports services industry. Its significance lies in promoting the utilization of the Olympic Winter Games' legacy and aiding in Beijing's goal of building an international consumption center.

Zhang Jiandong, Representative of the 14^th National People's Congress and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, highlighted how the material and cultural legacy carried by Beijing, as the "Dual Olympic City", constitutes a crucial driving force and solid foundation for the construction of a sports powerhouse and the realization of the Healthy China Initiative. Beijing, aligning with its new stage of development and integrating into the new development pattern, intends to offer comprehensive customized services for enterprises with a more open, inclusive, innovative, and win-win approach in terms of policy innovation, service guarantee, and brand cultivation. Beijing sincerely invites sports enterprises to invest and develop, enabling the sharing of Olympic Games' dividends.

Zhao Wen, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, provided an overview of the Sports Services Section, which spans an area of 13,200 square meters, accommodating a total of 353 enterprises and institutions participating online or offline. The internationalization rate has reached 56%, with 42% of these enterprises being industry leaders. The four forums held during the section have effectively fostered international exchange and cooperation within the global sports services industry. Through multiple supply and demand docking and transaction matching activities, a bridge has been built between the supply and demand of sports services. This has resulted in a rich interactive experience for the audience, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the infinite excitement brought by sports.

Yang Xuedong, Director of the Sports Economy Department at the General Administration of Sport of China, released and interpreted the "Report on China's Sports Services Trade (2022)". According to the report, there has been a significant year-on-year increase in the total import and export volume of China's sports services trade in 2022. This growth is expected to continue, making it a notable aspect of China's services trade development.

In recent years, China's sports exchanges have been expanding, leading to more active and practical bilateral sports exchanges. China's mutually beneficial cooperation with European and American sports powers, as well as Nordic winter sports powers, has been deepening. As the guest country of honor at the CIFTIS, the UK has participated with the largest exhibition team ever. Rupert Daniels, Director of Services and Skills at the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom, expressed hopes for increased Chinese delegations visiting the UK to explore and promote the commercialization of sports events. He also expressed gratitude for the rare exchange and cooperation opportunities provided by the Sports Services Section.

During the sharing session of champions, Guo Jingjing, Olympic Diving Champion and Member of the FINA Diving Technical Committee, along with Sui Jianshuang, Silver Medalist of Olympic All-Around Gymnastics in the Beijing Olympic Games, delivered inspiring speeches. They shared their personal experiences and discussed the essence of the sports spirit and the innovative development of the sports industry, and introduced fresh ideas.

Executive Vice President of Asia Digital Group Zhang Li moderated a round-table dialogue with the topic of "The Dawn and Future of Global Sports", igniting the atmosphere to new heights. Involved guests included Jason Ferguson, Chairman of the WPBSA and Sports Advisor of the UK Government for International Trade & Investment, Sohail Shaikh, Deputy HM Trade Commissioner for China, Nico Schiettekatte, Counselor for Health, Welfare, and Sport at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing, and Lionel CHEN, President of ADNRS (Association Pour le Développement de la Nouvelle Route de la Soie) and Consultant of Wavelandes.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road initiative, which has now entered a new stage. During the roundtable dialogue, Lionel CHEN highlighted the influential role and value of the initiative in promoting cooperation in the sports industry. He emphasized that China and France already possess a solid foundation for collaboration and expressed his aspiration to elevate China-France sports cooperation to new heights, coinciding with the upcoming 60^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year. Regarding Belt and Road cooperation in the sports industry, he stressed the importance of actively exploring greater cooperation opportunities and development prospects. This can be achieved by strengthening project collaboration among member enterprises, promoting sports events in countries along the Belt and Road, and facilitating regular exchanges.

In order to explore the future of sports, several parallel forums have been organized alongside the main forum. These include the Swimming Industry Development Forum, the Digital Sports Development Forum, and the Sports Equipment Manufacturing Industry Forum. The concurrent Swimming Industry Development Forum invited Ge Jun, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Zhou Bin, Director of the Planning and Construction Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Zhang Li, Executive Vice President of Asia Digital Group, Yang Qiyong, General Manager of Beijing National Aquatics Center Co., Ltd., Koen De Ridder, Economic Representative of Flanders Investment & Trade, Belgium, Lionel CHEN, President of ADNRS and Consultant of Wavelandes, Wang Yuxiong, Professor and Director of the Sports Economics Research Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics and Guo Jingjing, Olympic Diving Champion and Member of the FINA Diving Technical Committee. The participants discussed hot topics such as IP creation for water sports events, enhancing international competitiveness of water sports, upgrading water sports services capacity, and water sports consumption. They collaborated to discover new models for water sports services, contributing fresh ideas towards the standardized and healthy development of the swimming industry.

The main and parallel forums were followed by multiple special events, including news releases, events for enterprises, transaction matching, industry docking, and release of signed agreements. These events effectively facilitated collaboration and cooperation in sports services trade, contributing to the high-quality development of the sports industry in the new era.

As an integral part of the CIFTIS, the Sports Services Section remains committed to building a high-level exchange platform for the international sports industry. Its goal is to comprehensively showcase innovative achievements, explore industry opportunities more effectively, and facilitate deeper insights and sharing. By consolidating global sports forces, we can collectively explore new models, paths, and possibilities for the sports industry.

SOURCE Asia Digital Group