China plans to expand the scale of its sports industry to at least RMB 7 trillion ($1 trillion) over the next five years, reports the South China Morning Post. The move seeks to increase sporting events, outdoor activities and fitness spending to boost consumption and support local economies.

The fresh target was detailed by officials at a press conference on Thursday as part of Beijing’s 15th five-year plan for the sports sector, and the goal represents a big jump from the RMB 3.84 trillion recorded in 2024, according to the most recent data.

China’s General Administration of Sport said the country would cultivate home-grown event brands, improve the spectator experience, and use competitions to stimulate spending across dining, accommodation, transport, tourism, retail and entertainment.

China’s spending on services far outpaced purchases of physical goods in the first seven months of 2026, driven by robust demand for travel and entertainment, reports Caixin.

Service retail sales rose 5% year on year from January through July, compared with a 1.1% increase in retail sales of physical goods, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Overall retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.2% to RMB 28.77 trillion ($4.3 trillion).

Much of the strength in services came from summer leisure spending. Revenue from tourism and cultural entertainment increased by more than 10%, while July box-office takings climbed more than 20% from a year earlier to above RMB 5 billion.

Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart unveiled a share buyback plan of up to RMB 5 billion ($742 million) after a double-digit decline in overseas revenue in the first half of 2026 led the company to warn it is likely to miss its full-year growth target, reports Caixin.

Hong Kong-listed Pop Mart posted revenue of RMB 17.2 billion for the first six months of the year, up 23.8% from a year earlier, according to earnings released on Wednesday. Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 10.1% to RMB 5 billion.

Domestic revenue climbed 47.3% to RMB 12.2 billion, while overseas revenue fell 11.1% to RMB 5 billion. Revenue in the Americas declined 16.5%, and Asia-Pacific sales fell 9.7%. Europe and other regions posted a 5.9% gain.

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is eyeing ‌a company valuation in its planned Hong Kong IPO of just a quarter of the nearly $100 billion number seen in a share sale four years ago, reports Reuters. This comes as the company’s growth has slowed.

Two people familiar with the situation said Shein’s value was likely to be around $25 billion in the IPO, ​while a third source said the company was looking at a valuation of between $25 billion and $28 billion, based on the ​marketing price band for the offering.

That’s down from the $30 billion to $40 billion range Reuters reported Shein was ⁠aiming for at the start of this month, soon after it began investor meetings on the issue. The valuation decline since 2022 ​comes as Shein’s biggest markets began a crackdown on e-commerce platforms selling cheap Chinese-made goods, hurting the company’s growth prospects.

New Zealand’s a2 Milk forecast weak annual earnings on Monday ‌after missing market expectations for fiscal year 2026 due to supply-chain disruption in its China-label business, sending its shares plunging more than 10%, reports Reuters.

Strong third-quarter demand, production backlogs, and higher freight costs disrupted supply and caused ​shortages of China-label infant milk formula (IMF) in the June quarter, forcing existing users to ​switch to alternative brands, the Auckland-based dairy firm said.

As a result, revenue ⁠from China-label IMF sales declined 14% to NZ$544.3 million ($320.59 million) in the year ended June ​30. Stock levels have since “significantly improved”, the company said, adding that it was working to win back ​lapsed customers and attract new ones.