Experts call for strategy to give China's sports industry a boost

With China aiming to boost its sports industry as a new economic driver, observers are calling for a shift in sports consumption from tangible products to areas with greater potential such as fitness services and athletic entertainment.

Driven by an increasing awareness of fitness, Chinese people are spending more on sport-related businesses, according to a recent national mass exercise survey released by the China Institute of Sport Science on Monday.

Among the 81,828 people aged at least 20 who were questioned in the survey, 39.9 percent spent money on sport-related items including sportswear, equipment and trainers' fees, with per capita expenditure of 926 yuan ($145) in 2014, a 52 percent rise from the figure in 2007.