The General Administration of Sport of China recently released the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011- 2015) for the sports industry.

The group set a target for the industry's industrial added value to increase over 15 percent annually, the Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday.

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According to the plan, by the end of the 12th Five-Year period, the industrial added value of the sports industry should exceed 400 billion yuan ($61.47 billion), accounting for over 0.7 percent of the total GDP.

By 2015, the sports industry should hire a total of over 4 million employees. And the industry should become one of the important growth points of China's economy, according to the report.

The plan promotes the building of sports industry bases, sports enterprises and sports brands. The specific measures include supporting the investment and financing of the athletics industry and carrying out related tax incentives, the newspaper reported.