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Esports
TechPolicy

Chinese Communist Party aims to turn Beijing into an e-sports hub, backed by subsidy schemes

  • The initiative called ‘E-sports Beijing 2020’ builds on the momentum of news that the annual League of Legends World Championship will be staged for two consecutive years in China
  • E-sports revenue in China is projected to reach US$23.7 billion by 2021

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Despite the big push in Beijing, there is strong competition from other Chinese cities – including Hangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Xian, Sanya and Haikou – in becoming a major e-sports hub. Photo: China Foto Press
Josh Ye
China’s capital, Beijing, is expected to become the country’s new e-sports hub under an ambitious initiative that will provide major subsidies to teams, arenas and video games that promote local culture.
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That initiative, called “E-sports Beijing 2020”, was unveiled over the weekend by Fu Hua, deputy minister at the publicity department of the Chinese Communist Party, on the occasion of three events held at the capital – the Beijing International Innovation and Development Conference, Light of E-sports Exhibition Fair and the Honour of Kings 2020 Championship Finals.

“As our country is launching a new infrastructure initiative, and given this golden opportunity presented by a paradigm shift in how people consume cultural products in the post-Covid-19 world, e-sports can serve as a great vehicle on which we can put more critical emerging technologies into use,” Fu said.

The infrastructure plan that Fu referred to has been backed by President Xi Jinping himself. It involves investing an estimated 10 trillion yuan (US$1.4 trillion) over six years to 2025 in the domestic economy, supporting the roll-out of everything from 5G mobile networks to artificial intelligence systems.

“[E-sports] will be the ambassador for Chinese culture going global,” Fu said.

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China video game craze drives booming e-sports market

China video game craze drives booming e-sports market
The stakes are high for China in e-sports, a market whose revenue is expected to reach more than 165.1 billion yuan by 2021. That includes income generated from games, tournaments and merchandising.
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