Based on the game F1 2019, the F1 eSports Championship is out for a good start in China, holding the Finals in Shanghai on January 4, 2020. Formula One launched the F1 eSports Championship in Shanghai with its first preliminary competition signing-up window from August 7, 2019.

Over 10,000 players joined the championship nationwide in the first year. Players were divided into north, south, east and mid-west regions. Eighty regional players made up the top 20 from each region, plus 20 guest players, will be racing for the 20 available places in the global championship - F1 eSports Pro Draft in London in February 2020. Besides, the final champions will be granted the opportunity to race with top racers, including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas. 

Dong Liangliang, the deputy GM of Juss Intellisports, says that the FOM (Formula One Management) launched the eSports to attract more young fans. Juss Intellisports, with a 15-year-long experience in introducing the F1 to the Chinese audience, noted that it's "natural to import the eSports into China."

F1 eSports Championship and F1 Chinese Grand Prix are two steps in the Shanghai municipal government's plan of promoting and developing the construction of a "world-famous tourist city," where sports and related cultural communication are vital. According to Zhang Yu, director of the International Communication Office of local government, sportsmanship is well matched in Shanghai and the municipality plans to expand into more sports events.

Other international sports events may include Shanghai International Marathon, half marathons, Women Cycling Championship, SIPG Football Club, NBA China Games, and others.

Among the 163 sports competitions from home and abroad held in Shanghai in 2019, 87 were at an international level, taking over 50 percent for the first time. Local government reports that the city's sports industry volume was 14.9 billion yuan in 2018, taking up 1.7 percent of the city's GDP, while China's sports industry is valued at 2.2 trillion yuan. The city's sports industry is expected to reach 200 billion yuan in 2020 and doubled by the end of 2040.

Shanghai authorities have been taking a more active role in introducing and developing high-quality sports competitions by providing funding support for general and major projects at five million yuan (about 718,000 U.S. dollars) and 10 million yuan (about 1.44 million  U.S. dollars), respectively, up to 30 percent of the event's total expense. Additionally, authorities have been boosting the landing of international sports events by lowering the requirement of the event's total expense from two million (about 290,000 U.S. dollars) to one million yuan (about 144,000 U.S. dollars) to apply for funding support, enabling more smaller international sports events to benefit from the policy.