China has just signalled that basketball is back on the national priority list, with a clear invitation for high‑quality foreign investment in the sport. In a new circular on “further promoting reform and development of basketball,” the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) sets out a long‑term roadmap that links elite performance, youth development, professional league reform and inbound investment.

The circular was issued shortly after the NBA confirmed a multi‑year agreement to return to the China market via pre‑season games in Macao, following a six‑year hiatus.

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GASC’s directive calls for “high‑quality foreign capital” to support the development of domestic professional leagues and clubs, and encourages overseas league companies, training institutions and sports‑brokerage firms to establish regional headquarters in China. The measures are framed as part of a broader push to “improve youth, grassroots and professional basketball,” promote open competition and carry out pilot reforms across the system.

The circular also sets clear performance and participation benchmarks. The men’s national team is tasked with qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games and then featuring at the Olympics on a regular basis by 2035. By 2030, authorities want the number of young people playing basketball to be “significantly improved and increased,” and the overall strength and international influence of Chinese basketball to be further enhanced.

The policy arrives just weeks after the NBA staged its first games in China in six years, with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns playing two sold‑out pre‑season games in Macao in October. Under a new arrangement, two NBA pre‑season games are expected to be held in Macao each year over the next four years, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicating that additional games in other Chinese cities could be explored alongside the Macao schedule.

These events form part of a broader commercial push that includes a multi‑year technology and content partnership with Alibaba, designed to enhance the NBA’s digital presence and fan engagement in China. Strong attendance and commercial interest around the Macao games underline ongoing demand for elite basketball content and provide a timely backdrop for China’s efforts to deepen international basketball cooperation.

Alongside the national‑team targets and investment signals, the circular sits against a wave of domestic reforms led by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). For the 2025–26 season, the CBA is preparing structural updates including full adoption of FIBA‑standard rules, such as 10‑minute quarters, and adjustments to roster and game‑format regulations to better align with international competition.

GASC’s guidelines emphasise strengthening campus and youth competitions, improving coaching and officiating standards, and creating clearer progression from school and grassroots programmes into professional leagues. The overarching goal is to make the domestic basketball ecosystem more competitive, attractive to fans and partners, and better able to support China’s long‑term Olympic and talent‑development ambitions.

For international leagues, training providers and agencies, the circular represents a formal policy opening: they are explicitly encouraged to participate in the Chinese basketball market through investment, joint initiatives and local operating hubs. While specific investment structures and regulatory details have not yet been disclosed, the direction of travel is clear, China is positioning basketball as a key sport for expanded cooperation, capital inflows and knowledge transfer.

Combined with the NBA’s renewed presence in Macao, the new measures suggest growing room for high‑quality international partnerships across events, youth development, training, and professional competition. For stakeholders focused on the business of basketball, China’s latest moves point to a larger, more internationally connected basketball economy over the coming decade.