China set to establish a national Esports Work Council

The China Internet Association has announced its plan to implement an Esports Work Council.

At a Digital Esports and Intelligent Economy summit in Beijing, the China Internet Association met with political officials and multiple Chinese companies related to esports. It announced plans to create an Esports Work Council, which will promote, reinforce, and standardize the country’s esport industry. It will also combine esports planning with China’s existing education strategies to make esports a more sustainable industry.

“The esports industry has grown in a certain scale and level, it already has sort of strong economic effect,” said Vice Secretary of China Internet Association Song Maoen.

The summit received the support of multiple Chinese government departments. These included the General Administration of Sports of China,the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The announcement of an Esports Work Council comes shortly after the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China declared esports an official career path.

According to a May 2018 report, one in every five people in China watch or play esports title. The largest games of choice were League of Legends and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The country’s esport market size has reached more than 60 billion yuan (about $9 billion), an almost 60 percent increase from 2016’s numbers.

2018 was the same year China achieved ultimate victory in League of Legends when domestic team Invictus Gaming took home the Worlds Championship trophy. Riot Games’ next World Championship will be held in China in 2019.

The country is the home base of four Overwatch League teams: Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, and Shanghai Dragons. Dota 2 also has a major esports scene in China, with the country winning three of the eight International championships. This year’s edition of The International will be held in Shanghai.