Shenzhen, Shanghai vow support for esports in latest sign of thaw in China’s video gaming crackdown
- Government officials in Shanghai and Shenzhen said they aim to boost the local esports industry, a “new driving force of the digital economy”
- Analysts, however, said more government support is needed to shore up China’s fledgling esports industry, which suffered from a regulatory crackdown
Authorities in Shanghai and Shenzhen are joining forces with China’s semi-official video gaming industry trade body to promote the development of esports, as Beijing winds down its regulatory crackdown on the industry.
The government of Jingan district in central Shanghai signed a deal with the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association to establish an esports industry research institute during a ceremony at an annual domestic esports industry conference held by the group in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen on Friday.
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Shenzhen officials said in the same event that the city will introduce more special policies to build itself into an “international capital of esports”.
“Video gaming and esports are becoming a new driving force for the development of the digital economy,” said Zhang Hua, Shenzhen’s vice-mayor. “The Shenzhen government attaches great importance to the development of the industry.”
Last year, revenue in China’s esports sector fell 14 per cent to 144.5 billion yuan (US$21 billion), marking the first decline in five years, mostly due to a broader market downturn and a decline in users’ ability and willingness to pay, according to a recent report published by the Esports Working Committee, an agency set up last year by the Association.
