CHINA

Universities look to adopt a sporting culture
The emphasis on athletic development at United States universities, highlighted by a basketball game played between Stanford and Harvard during their recent China trip, has inspired educators, officials and celebrities to reflect on the underdeveloped role played by sports in China's higher education system, writes Sun Xiaochen for China Daily."The collegiate athletic system in the US has been world-famous in not only developing elite athletes but also cultivating leaders in other fields. We are learning and borrowing their experiences to adjust our own programme to enhance sport's role in education as a whole," said Yang Liguo, vice-president and secretary-general of the Federation of University Sports China, the Chinese counterpart of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Yang made the remarks at the China-US University Sports and Education Summit held before the game. University leaders, education officials and sports executives, especially from Pac-12 and the Ivy League, two major collegiate sports conferences in the US, attended the summit to exchange ideas and best practices on collegiate sports development in panel discussions.
Full report on the China Daily site