Mark Dreyer | Bolstering National Pride Through Sports Performance on the Olympic Global Stage

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      The economic, cultural, and athletic impact that the 2008 Beijing Olympics had on China</p><p>●      China’s reaction to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics</p><p>●      China’s expectations for the 2022 Winter Olympics and future games</p><p>●      Popular and not-as popular sports in China</p><p>●      The intersection of sports, politics, and business in China’s fitness industry</p><p>●      China’s growing interest in health and fitness</p><p>●      How China is investing in infrastructure to aid in the development of the sports industry</p><p>●      Team sports versus individual sports in China</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Mark Dreyer, a China-based media and sports professional. Mark has been based in China since shortly before the 2008 Olympics, where he has worked with several media outlets, both domestic and international.</p><p>Mark is the Marketing and Communications Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and the Founder of China Sports Insider and the China Correspondent for SportsBusiness Group.</p><p>Asked how the 2008 Summer Olympics influenced China economically, Mark says that, while the event itself was not profitable for the country, the Olympics cemented China’s dramatic rise in the 2000s as a major player on the world stage.</p><p>Culturally, and in the sports world specifically, the nation gained a massive amount of soft power as a result of their virtually flawless handling of the Olympics—not to mention having won 51 gold medals—showing the world a side of China previously unseen.</p><p>Mark gives his thoughts on the growth of the Chinese sports industry as a vehicle for bolstering national pride. He shares how this intersection of sports, politics and business manifests itself, such as in the famously “manufactured” athletic prowess of NBA star Yao Ming.</p><p>However, Mark believes that the top-down nature of Chinese society is li