Juliana Liu, Columnist

China’s Sneaker Wars Are Just Kicking Off

April 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC

Juliana Liu is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion's Asia team, covering corporate strategy and management in the region. She was previously CNN's senior business editor for Asia, and a correspondent at BBC News and Reuters.

Homegrown sports brands are leading, but competition from Western players is coming.
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A flurry of earnings has revealed some surprises in China’s $67 billion sportswear industry. While homegrown players still lead the pack, competition is coming from niche Western makers of performance gear favored by serious athletes.

Even a legacy brand like Adidas AG has been able to get back in the game. The resurgence of foreign names should offer a path forward for Nike Inc. — desperately in need of a comeback in its second-most important market after North America. It’s an achievable, if difficult, goal.