The Olympic Tower in Beijing. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
The pandemic-afflicted Tokyo Olympic Games have begun at last. China has sent its largest ever delegation to the event this year, with over 400 athletes, and will likely bring home another huge tally of medals.
But that’s not the only way that representatives from China will make waves at the Games: Chinese brands will feature more prominently than at any Olympics since Beijing served as the host in 2008. The Chinese internet behemoth Alibaba and the dairy producer Mengniu are among the lead sponsors for the Tokyo games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Marketing sponsorships are a big deal for Olympic finances, accounting for more than half of the $6.7 billion revenue Tokyo’s organizing committee has budgeted for. But not all sponsorships are made equal, with each Games typically offering several sponsorship tiers. At the Tokyo Games, there are 15 “top” (The Olympic Partner) sponsors — the most expensive tier — including familiar names such as Toyota, Visa
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
Increasingly, Democrats and Republicans believe that climate change and China pose a single interconnected challenge. As a result — and for the first time ever — a window is opening for bipartisan cooperation on climate policy. Historically progressive ideas like a 'carbon border adjustment mechanism' now have conservative champions, for instance. But with Washington's main focus on the Warming War with China, can it still save the planet?
A look at China’s electricity grid: how it works, who foots the bill, and how its structure leads to power crunches and expensive prices despite the relative abundance of energy in China.
The academic talks about the changing understanding of Leninist regimes; common misperceptions of the post-Mao era; and what the collapse of the Soviet Union means for China today.
