Photo: Courtesy of Tencent Esports

After esports were officially included as a formal event at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, a global esports summit was recently held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, as part of local government's efforts to become an international esports capital. 

During the summit, which took "Link to the Future" as its theme, the national training teams for esports events at the Asian Games made their first collective appearance. Donning the unified uniforms of the games, the teams vowed: "Every day on our journey to the Asian Games, we will unite, prepare earnestly, respect the Olympic spirit, firmly uphold fair competition, abide by anti-doping regulations, shoulder our mission, go all out, live up to the glory and showcase the strength of China!"

Shenzhen has stepped up its efforts to build itself into the capital of esports, including providing up to 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) to support the development of the esports industry and strengthening esports content creation.

"Shenzhen will go all out to develop itself into an international esports capital that leads the Greater Bay Area, radiates across the country, and faces the world within approximately three years," Chen Shaohua, a deputy director of the Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, said at the summit.

According to measures issued by the Shenzhen government on July 10 regarding the construction of the esports capital, the city will provide funding and incentives ranging from 1 million yuan to 10 million yuan in six areas such as strengthening esports content creation, cultivating esports market entities and improving the development of esports industry platforms. 

The digital economy is one of the leading strategies for Shenzhen's urban development and serves as an important foundation for the development of the city's esports industry. In 2022, the core industries within Shenzhen's digital economy experienced remarkable growth, contributing nearly 1 trillion yuan to the region's economy and accounting for more than 30 percent of gross regional product, reported Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

Global Times