China is strengthening youth fitness nationwide through expanded school sports programs, daily exercise requirements and public health policies inspired by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on children’s physical wellbeing.
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) — At 7:30 a.m., students and teachers at Beijing Yuying School begin their day with a run around the campus track, a routine the school has maintained for years.
“Running has become a habit for all of us,” said Wang Zuozhou, head of physical education department for the school’s primary division.
Behind the daily laps lies a deeper source of motivation.
Ahead of International Children’s Day in 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the campus of Beijing Yuying School, where he took in a vibrant scene at the basketball court — students enthusiastically playing basketball or rope-skipping in their P.E. classes.
“Regular physical exercise should be a priority from an early age,” Xi said.
“The more you participate in sports and exercise, the less chance you become overweight or nearsighted,” he told the students.
For Wang and his colleagues, ensuring that children receive one P.E. class and two hours of outdoor exercise every day has been a mission. “President Xi’s words were simple yet profound. We’re really happy to see the children grow up healthy and strong.”
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, is a staunch supporter of an educational philosophy that places health as the foremost priority.
“I’m deeply concerned that so many children wear glasses nowadays. Their overall physical health has also declined due to a lack of exercise,” Xi said, when he inspected Laoxian Town Central Primary School in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province in April 2020.
Xi’s emphasis on prioritizing youth fitness guided the school to advance its sports programs.
“We’ve increased outdoor activities and corrected the students’ writing posture to protect their eyesight and physical health,” said school principal Wu Jinpeng. He said the situation has improved a lot, as across the school’s 12 classes, only four to five students out of over 30 per class wear glasses nowadays.
The school currently offers three physical education classes and one martial arts class each week. It also supports more than 10 clubs that organize after-school activities, including basketball and football, to encourage student participation in sports.
Nationwide, Xi’s concerns have also been put into concrete practice. In 2020, two key documents, one on deepening the integration of sports and education and promoting the healthy growth of young people and another comprehensively strengthening and improving the work on school sports, were released.
In 2022, a revision to the Law on Physical Culture and Sports was passed at a National People’s Congress Standing Committee session. The revision is the first comprehensive and systematic revision since the law’s initial enforcement in 1995.
Chapters of “Social Sports” and “School Physical Education” were renamed “National Fitness” and “Youth and School Sports,” respectively, to reflect China’s primary concern of public and youth fitness.
The law stipulates that students are promised at least one hour’s daily exercise at school, and public sports infrastructure must open to schools for mandatory annual sports events.
By the end of 2025, China’s per capita sports venue area had reached 3.11 square meters. Official surveys show that 38.52 percent of Chinese residents aged seven and above now participate regularly in physical exercise, up 1.3 percentage points from 2020. The average life expectancy of the Chinese reached 79.25 years in 2025, an increase of 1.32 years from 2020.
Wansongyuan Road Primary School, renowned for its football program in central China’s Wuhan, has established at least one football team for every grade. Besides ordinary P.E. classes, these teams undergo 90 minutes of football training every day.
Over the past decade, 26 graduates from this school have been selected for China’s men’s and women’s national teams. “We truly believe that good health is a solid foundation for future study and work,” said Xiong Liping, principal of the school.
“Young people are the future and hope of our country. Bearing President Xi’s words in mind, we’ll continue to nurture more football talents and help every child build a lifelong habit of exercising,” she added. ■