Winning gold medals has been key at the recent Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, with China as one of the major winners. But is that what the Olympics should be about, wonders China veteran Ian Johnson at the Council for Foreign Relations. It should give people in western countries pause to think about China’s course—is it really so brutal, or just a reflection of a system that we all, wittingly or not, follow, asks Ian Johnson.Read More →

Li-Ning and Anta, two Chinese shoe sport manufacturers, took a nationalistic twist in their marketing after the US National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Houston Rockets triggered off criticism from China’s government. Marketing expert Tom Doctoroff comments on the slippery slope of nationalism in China marketing for Al Jazeera.Read More →

China imposed a 100% tax for transfers of foreign players to loss-making soccer clubs – in fact all. A desperate measure that shows China is very far away from playing, less alone winning the World Cup, as president Xi Jinping wants it, says Beijing-based soccer expert Rowan Simons at Sky News.Read More →

Soccer has been catching most headlines in trying to conquer China. But the long term strategy to root baseball into the country might offer more chances for success, writes Beida business professor Jeffrey Towson at his weblog. “Major League Baseball (MLB) Is Copying the NBA in China – And It Might Work.”Read More →

Soccer in China is government organized and that not only leads to a bad quality soccer, it is also illegal under the FIFA rules, writes soccer expert Rowan Simons at the New York Times. Rowan Simons is chairman of China ClubFootball FC, the first amateur football network in China with foreign investors, and the author of “Bamboo Goalposts.Read More →

China´s soccer clubs have been spending unprecedented amounts of capital in buying foreign players and improving high-profile stadiums and other infrastructure, hoping to win the World Cup. But the basis is wrong, so the efforts will fail, says Beijing-based soccer expert Rowan Simons to AFP,Read More →

Developer Reeze Fan of SoccerWorld tries to capitalize on president Xi Jinping´s dream to change China into a soccer nation by building recreational soccer complexes. But despite prominent support, Fan faces an uphill battle, warns soccer expert Rowan Simons in Bloomberg.Read More →

Peking University business professor Jeffrey Towson notes at his LinkedIn page that many consumers at the Beijing subway have started to wear sports wear. Adidas is one of the winners in a convincing trend towards a healthier lifestyle, he argues. Although he expects this catches on among women more than smoking men.Read More →