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Based on the economic system reform of the Party since the founding of the People's Republic of China, this paper analyzes the development of China' s sports industry by using the methods of literature review and logical analysis. The findings of this paper include : under the correct leadership of the Communist Party of China, the development of sports industry in China has experienced four phases ' these are the period of gestation and reserve at the beginning of the founding of New China ' the period of initial development after the reform and opening up, the period of deep exploration at the turn of the 20th and 21st century'and the period of reform and innovation after the CPC's 18th National Congress. According to this tortuous development course of China' s sports industry, this paper concludes the CPC's basic experience of leading the development of China' s sports industry, including grasping the historical orientation of China' s social development' emphasizing the leading role of the CPC's guiding principles of economic construction ' and establishing the people-centered outlook of sports industry development. By examining the current complex situation at home and abroad, it suggests that the future development of China's sports industry should take the initiative to follow the major national strategic deployment ' further utilize the leading role of the market ' and effectively improve the transformation of scientific and technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying excellent natural variations is the foundation for breeding. Several major genes of quantitative trait loci for chilling tolerance at seedling stage (qCTS) have been identified. However, less is known the dual elite modules for the tolerance. Here, we reported that the major gene of qCTS1-2, Chilling-tolerance in Geng/japonica rice 4(COG4), encoding the transcription factor ENAC1, coupled with OsbZIP23to positively regulate chilling tolerance. The haplotype analysis and geographical distribution showed that most of chilling-tolerant japonicavarieties carried Var9(CT) at −317 in COG4(COG4jap). The COG4jappromoter was preferentially bound by cold-induced OsbZIP23 to cause a higher expression of COG4japcompared to COG4ind, which promotes multiple pathways for the tolerance. Both of COG4japand OsbZIP23japwere artificially selected and retained in japonicavarieties during domestication. These results not only unveil the regulatory mechanism of OsbZIP23jap-COG4japmodule, but also provide valuable variations for molecular design breeding.

The current study explored the thematic framing of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on X (Twitter), examining how these thematic frames and audience engagement varied across various content creator tiers—mega, macro, micro, and nano content creators—throughout the year surrounding the event. Through the lens of the framing theory, we employed LDA topic modeling and identified three dominant thematic frames: athletic achievements and competition results, international participation dynamics including boycotts and diplomatic engagements, and geopolitical undertones reflecting on the host nation and global conflicts. A noticeable relationship between thematic frames and engagement levels was observed consistently across creator tiers, with athleticism and contest outcomes garnering sustained attention, underscoring its pivotal role in event discussions. Moreover, our findings revealed unique engagement patterns across creator tiers. Mega creators amplified reactions to sports achievements. Macro creators displayed varied engagement, suggesting responsiveness to ongoing events. Micro creators saw fluctuating engagement with a focus on geopolitical issues. Nano creators actively engaged with both sports achievements and political discussions. Overall, the study illuminates the complexities of media representations and audience perceptions, while dissecting the impactful role played by different tiers of content creators in driving public engagement with a global sporting spectacle.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze fans’ perceptions of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of a professional football club, specifically whether or not perceived CSR performances are then likely to influence patronage intentions of the fans in relation to the football club. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the example of a professional football club in China as a case study for data analysis. Based on a sample of 451 home team fans, analysis was conducted through calculation of descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the impact of perceived CSR performance on fans’ patronage intentions. Findings: The results revealed that factor 3 (“CSR to customer and employee”) and factor 4 (“Community development and youth education”) were significantly predictive of all the three patronage intention variables, i.e. repeat purchase, word-of-mouth and merchandise consumption. In addition, factor 2 (“charity”) would also affect merchandise consumption intention, but have no effect on any other dimensions. Originality/value: A scale measuring perceived CSR performance in professional football clubs by the fans in the Chinese context has been developed. In addition, the authors have identified that the two main CSR factors that would influence fans’ patronage intentions are: “CSR to the customer and employee” and “community development and youth education.” Thus, if football clubs are to use CSR strategically to leverage spend, then it is these two areas that they should focus on, explicitly in relation to CSR activities. This paper adds value to an area that is currently under-researched in respect of CSR activities in Chinese professional football.

Purpose: Growth of China’s sport industry has brought tremendous opportunities to sport and non-sport organizations domestically and globally; nonetheless, the enlargement has also raised many challenges. To a great extent, China has chartered into unprecedented new sport business territories. Because of social, cultural, historical, and governmental differences, many theories and knowledge, professional experiences, best practices, and lessons learned in Western countries may or may not be directly applicable to the diverse setting(s) in China. Until now, only limited empirical evidence is available to address these challenges. Thus, formulating a special issue in the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorshipto examine contemporary subject matters and concerns would be significantly meaningful to help understand, stimulate, and improve sport business operations in China, provide guidance to transnational organizations for doing sport-related business in China, offer constructive suggestions for Chinese corporations going global, and ultimately build up theories and best practices to address unique perspectives of China’s sport industry. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is conceptual and presents a review of literature. Findings: In addition to this leading paper, there are a total of eight manuscripts selected for this special issue inquiring on contemporary matters and development of China’s sport industry, including four short articles that were formulated based on qualitative research information derived from case studies and interviews and four full-length articles that adopted a quantitative research protocol or a mixed research design involving both qualitative and quantitative information. Research limitations/implications: While it is impossible to capture all contemporary topics in the development of China’s sport industry within one journal issue, articles selected in this special issue of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorshiphave provided useful highlights into some of the critical issues faced by the industry and research directions by academicians. It is sincerely expected that studies in this special issue would help inspire more scholarly inquires and ultimately improve the continued formulation and advancement of a strong sport industry in China. Practical implications: While it is impossible to capture all contemporary topics in the development of China’s sport industry within one journal issue, articles selected in this special issue of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorshiphave provided useful highlights into some of the critical issues faced by the industry and research directions by academicians. It is sincerely expected that studies in this special issue would help inspire more scholarly inquires and ultimately improve the continued formulation and advancement of a strong sport industry in China. Social implications: While it is impossible to capture all contemporary topics in the development of China’s sport industry within one journal issue, articles selected in this special issue of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorshiphave provided useful highlights into some of the critical issues faced by the industry and research directions by academicians. It is sincerely expected that studies in this special issue would help inspire more scholarly inquires and ultimately improve the continued formulation and advancement of a strong sport industry in China. Originality/value: While it is impossible to capture all contemporary topics in the development of China’s sport industry within one journal issue, articles selected in this special issue of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorshiphave provided useful highlights into some of the critical issues faced by the industry and research directions by academicians. It is sincerely expected that studies in this special issue would help inspire more scholarly inquires and ultimately improve the continued formulation and advancement of a strong sport industry in China.