The General Administration of Sport ("GAS") has recently issued the Administrative Measures for Sports Activities Carried out by Foreign Non-governmental Organizations within the Territory of China (the "Measures"), immediately effective from the issue date and valid for five years.
The Measures provide that, to carry out sports activities within the territory of China, a foreign non-governmental organization ("NGO") shall establish a representative office in China according to the law. Where an NGO without a registered representative office in China needs to temporarily organize a sports activity in China, it is required to obtain an approval and file a record according to the law. According to the Measures, a foreign NGO that is legally established abroad and able to independently bear civil liability and carry out public-benefit activities within its business scope and in conformity with the purposes set out in its bylaws, may apply for registering and setting up a sports representative office in China, provided that it has been established for more than two years overseas and carried out substantial activities. Furthermore, the Measures clearly specify that, where a foreign NGO has not registered and set up a representative office in China, or has not filed a record for temporary sports activities, it shall neither carry out sports activities in China directly or in a disguised manner, nor commission or subsidize directly or in a disguised manner any domestic entity or individual to carry out sports activities.