On August 18, the State Council of the People's Republic of China recently published an opinion piece outlining their support to Shenzhen in order to become the country’s demonstration zone serving as an example of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Opinion outlines the many goals that the government expects Shenzhen to fulfil, while providing policy support to help Shenzhen reach these targets.

On the sports front, the government will support Shenzhen in the hosting of large-scale international sports events and the building of training centers for national sports teams. 

Although the Opinion was published only recently, Shenzhen had already embarked on a route to develop itself as a sports center for quite some time. With the Opinion, Shenzhen will have more resources available to establish itself as one of the most important cities in the world in terms of the sports landscape.

In 2019, Shenzhen has hosted or will host quite a few important sports events, including  the WTA Finals, Volvo China Open, China Open (table tennis), the FIBA World Cup, the Trophée des Champions, NBA China Games in Shenzhen, the FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup and the Chinese Volleyball Super League All Star Game.

Reference: CCTV.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick