Introduction

Sport has long been a salient policy area in China and there has been notable progress in both traditional and emerging sports areas in China, propelled by and reflecting the ever-changing political, economic and social contexts of the nation. This opening chapter provides a salient context for the analysis of sport policy in China, highlights the research significance of the exploration of the policy of various sports areas in this country and identifies key research objectives. It is noteworthy that this book embraces both Mainland China and two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau. Research methods deployed for this book are discussed, with most data sourced from documents, accompanied by semi-structured interviews for certain chapters. The structure of the book is also detailed in this introductory chapter. In specific terms, this book comprises six empirical chapters focusing on elite sport, professional and commercial sports and the sports industry, the hosting of sports mega events, mass sport and sport in Hong Kong and Macau. Various policy theories and frameworks are applied and reflected in the concluding chapter, which provide useful heuristic bolstering the policy analysis of sport in China.