Sport has been an integral part of the Chinese government’s policy agenda since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. The policy prominence of sport has been further elevated in the last two to three decades, as indicated by the steady increase in elite sport success, the hosting of sports events such as the Olympic Games, China’s increased global engagement with sport organisations and the developments in sport professionalisation and commercialisation. This article reviews China’s sport policy at different periods since its inception, analyses the rationale for, and form and extent of, government intervention, presents the sport structure in China and identifies the dominant characteristics of its sport policy. In addition, various sport policy areas, ranging from elite sport and mass sport to sports mega-events, and sports professionalisation are discussed, and their relative policy significances are compared. The degree of balance between these areas and policy priorities are thus defined. Finally, emerging trends and issues are introduced.

Research question: Much research has been carried out to analyse factors contributing to China's notable success at the Olympic Games over the past decade. However, research which examines China's deliberate Olympic medal strategy remains relatively uncharted territory. Thus this paper seeks to address this gap and examines how China has become one of the most successful superpowers at the Summer Olympic Games within the last two decades by virtue of the application of the competitive advantage framework. Research methods: Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders of elite sport in China. These data were supplemented by a range of official publications of sports governing bodies in China, their websites and related information from the websites of influential media. Results and findings: It is evidenced that China's current Olympic configuration and (gold) medal distribution among sports/disciplines are largely underpinned by Tian Maijiu's research on cluster-based sports training and the ‘Five-Word principle’ (i.e. Small, Fast, Women, Water and Agile). In addition, there is clear evidence of China's continuous expansion of its market and the ambition to greater success in gold-medal abundant and collective ball sports/disciplines. Implications: This article concludes by critically examining the key characteristics and outcomes of China's approach to clustering and prioritisation, attempting to provide some insights into the establishment or refinement of Olympic (gold) medal strategy for other nations, where China may provide some useful lessons. The compatibility of the competitive advantage framework with the analysis of China's Olympic success is also discussed.

The aim of this article is to explore Olympic-led sport policy changes (as part of Olympic legacy) for China triggered by the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Although there has been a burgeoning of research interest in analysing Olympic-triggered changes and legacies, with focus on various areas such as economic, sociocultural, and environmental issues, little is known about the changes that the hosting of the Olympics Games stimulates in a host nation’s sport policy. Drawing from policy document analysis, the paper reveals that the two Olympic Games collectively helped to expand the role and value of sport in China and to elevate the status of mass sport. In terms of policy, China’s two bidding experiences led to a streamlining of policy making and legacy planning processes for sporting mega events. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications associated with strategic policy planning for future Olympics hosts.

Evaluation, a product of the movement for evidence-based policy, is a key step in policy cycles. However, many studies existing in sport policy literature have failed to address underpinning methodologies in a rigorous manner and to provide justification for the use of certain measures handpicked by evaluators. As yet, no study has explicitly reflected on the value of evaluation or has systematically discussed how mainstream evaluation theories have been used in sport policy studies. Such articulation is necessary in order to provide researchers with additional resources for making informed and strategic methodological choices and to ensure the quality of their analysis. Thus, this article discusses the development of evaluation in general and examines the existing literature on sport policy evaluation. It then goes on to outline four especially noteworthy public policy evaluation frameworks: experimental design, constructivist evaluation, utilisation-focused evaluation and realist evaluation. Next, it uses a specific example to highlight the strengths of realist evaluation as a tool for unpacking additionality and understanding the logic of theory. In conclusion, the article suggests using theory-based evaluation frameworks (specifically, realist evaluation) to inform sport policy failure or success for future sport evaluation research.

Despite China’s competitive sports success, particularly at the Olympic Games, little is known about the structures of coaching systems and coach development in China. To foster a comparative understanding of sports coaching development from different contexts and to inform and enrich investigative agendas in the area, this paper focuses on China and introduces its sports coaching systems and structures with an analysis built upon government policy and relevant Chinese literature. The paper delineates the two systems (elite and school), traces the changes of different versions of the skill grading system of Chinese sports coaches, outlines opportunities available for continued education; and highlights some of the current issues and challenges which hinder the development of Chinese sports coaches. Accordingly, suggestions for future policy and practice improvement are put forward in support of China’s mission to become a world sports power.