Technological innovation will drive China's sports development under its newly unveiled 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) announced by the State Council Information Office on September 3 ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The plan prioritizes digital upgrades across elite sports, public fitness and the sports industry. According to the General Administration of Sport of China (GAS) tech-enabled training is already strengthening preparations for the Asian Games and future Olympic campaigns through an AI with big data and cloud-powered system covering athlete selection, training, performance analysis and injury prevention.
GAS also announced plans to relax restrictions on team formation of event organization and athlete participation, encouraging enterprises, universities and clubs to join as partners in developing elite sports.
For public fitness China aims to have 40% of its population regularly exercising and achieve 4 square metres of sports venue space per person by 2030, alongside building over 5,000 new or renovated fitness venues. An "AI+ fitness" initiative will offer personalized guidance for groups including teenagers, the elderly, chronic disease patients and gig workers, integrating sports with healthcare services.
China's sports industry, valued at 5.12 trillion yuan ($762.8 billion) in 2025 targets growth beyond 7 trillion yuan by 2030. Authorities plan to boost research into competitive gear also wearable devices and smart venue systems while accelerating domestic equipment production.
Joint pilot programs with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will explore smart training systems of virtual sports events and digital campus solutions. The plan also supports building 100 high-quality outdoor sports destinations with standardized digital oversight aiming to strengthen China's overall sports competitiveness and industry growth.
