The boom in China's sports industry presents huge potential for foreign investment, especially from the UK.
Speaking at the Telegraph Business of Sport conference in London, Liu Xiaoming, the ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the UK, said that sport has become one of the country's new economic highlights and a national strategy for business.
From sports events and venues to retail and sponsorship, China has major opportunities for collaboration said Liu.
"There's no doubt China is a big sports nation, but China is not yet a strong sports nation," he said. "There are challenges. But in the long run China's sports sector has a huge market to offer.
"Many compare China's sports industry to a huge gold mine.
"The sport sector is fast emerging as a new growth point. By 2020 the total output will exceed US$450 billion. All this indicates a growing demand for domestic and foreign investment. [China's] sport industry is booming.
"[There is] great potential for China and the UK to collaborate in many aspects of the sports industry."
When asked about China's potential of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Liu added that it is a dream for the Asian superpower.
"Chinese people have three dreams for football," he said. "Dream one is to be a champion of Asian Games. They want to see the Chinese team perform better.
"Second dream is to host the World Cup. Maybe not 2030 but looking down the road we hope Chinese will host the World Cup.
"Third dream is to win the World Cup."
To discover more opportunities in China's sports, business and cultural events market visit Host City Asia in Beijing on 18 October.
