here were some debates and predictions before the Beijing Olympics that mass sport would replace elite sport to be the government's major focus after the Games and that the Games would be the last celebration of ‘Juguo Tizhi’. However, China's victory at the Beijing Olympics further proved the important role of elite sport in establishing China's international image and in helping to fulfil China's ambitions to be one of the global economic and political superpowers of the twenty-first century. President Hu Jintao made it clear immediately after the Games that Sport is the thermometer for the general power of a nation state and the level of social development. The Beijing Olympics has inspired millions of Chinese people and stimulated the development of sport in China. Our ultimate goal is to use sport to improve people's fitness level and improve their living standards. Sport should serve the people's all-round development and facilitate the development of [the] economy. Elite Sport and Mass Sport should advance together to achieve sustainable development.Footnote1 The National Sports Congress in early 2009 emphasised the further development of Chinese sport in three major areas: mass sport; the sports industry; and elite sport in the post-Beijing Olympics era.