Chinese firms, products shine at major global sports events

China on Saturday officially announced its 716-member delegation to the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. As more than 400 Chinese athletes, including 42 Olympic champions, are headed for Paris for the competitions, Chinese companies are churning out equipment and other products that will be used at the biggest sports event in the world.

The presence of Chinese products and brands at major international sports events has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Before the Paris Olympic Games, Chinese brands became a highlight at the Euro Cup 2024. Such a growing presence underscored the rising competitiveness of Chinese businesses, not just in manufacturing but in other fields as well, experts said.

At the Paris Games, which are scheduled to open on July 26, Chinese companies Alibaba Group and Mengniu Group, one of the leading dairy product manufacturers in China, will be among the top partners of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As a global leading Cloud Services Partner, Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of the Alibaba Group, will provide world-class cloud infrastructure and services supporting the digitization of the Olympic operations to optimize, secure, and enhance the experience for the athletes and fans from across the globe, according to the IOC.

With a joint partnership with Coca-Cola, Mengniu became the first Chinese fast-moving consumer goods company to become a top partner, the IOC's official website said.

In addition to Chinese firms' partnerships with the IOC, Chinese equipment and other products will be used at various venues and sports competitions at the Paris Games. TaiShan Sports, a leading sports equipment manufacturer, is among the main equipment suppliers of the Olympics.

The company said that it has served five Olympic Games, three Youth Olympic Games, five Universiades, six Asian Games, and more than 1,000 domestic and international sports events.

For the Paris Games, the company said it will provide equipment for wrestling, cycling, taekwondo, gymnastics, track and field, and other competitions, and it will provide pre-match training and indoor fitness equipment for the Chinese National Team training base, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

He Wenyi, a deputy director of the National Sports Industry Research Base at Peking University, said that the trend of Chinese firms' growing sponsorships at major international sports events is in line with the robust development of China's manufacturing industry, which continues to upgrade in all aspects.

"As China is a standard-setter in smart manufacturing, and made-in-China continues to become globalized, major sports events like the Olympics have become a big international stage for advanced Chinese companies to go global," He told the Global Times on Sunday.

China has been dominating the manufacturing industry for years, and its continuous upgrade toward smart manufacturing has further cemented the global leadership of made-in-China. More than just manufactured products, Chinese technologies and services, such as cloud and telecommunications, have become new bywords of Chinese manufacturing, experts said.

The growing visibility of Chinese companies at the Euro Cup 2024 made global headlines. According to media reports, among the tournament's 13 top-tier sponsors, five are Chinese companies, making China the largest source of sponsors for the event. The five Chinese companies are Hisense, a leading appliance and electronics manufacturer, Alipay, a payment service under Alibaba, Vivo, a smartphone maker, AliExpress and BYD, an electric vehicle maker.

Vivo told the Global Times on Sunday that the company showcased its commitment to digital inclusivity by providing X100 series smartphones to visually impaired and elder fans, aiming to enhance their experience and promote social equity.

"Vivo captures legendary moments with exceptional imaging technology and enhances the event experience, showcasing the beauty of sports and the joy of humanity on the international stage with Chinese-made video equipment," the company said. "Vivo is committed to technology that serves people and to sustainable innovation, empowering greater products and sharing the beauty of technology with consumers worldwide."

The presence of the Chinese sponsors at the Euro Cup highlighted Chinese companies' competitiveness in not just manufacturing but also technologies. Hisense, for example, said that in addition to brand promotion at the Euro Cup, it also became a technological cooperation partner for the championship in terms of video assistant referees.

Bian Yongzu, a senior industry researcher, said that Chinese home appliance manufacturers have long been top sponsors of major international sports events, but recently more and more Chinese companies in other fields have become major sponsors, indicating the comprehensive rise of various Chinese industries.

"It shows that in addition to traditional industries, Chinese companies in various industries are also on the fast track of internationalization through active efforts to open up to the outside world," Bian told the Global Times on Sunday.