Fujian, a coastal province in the southeastern part of China, plans to build itself into a world renowned modernized production base for sports goods by 2020, according to a recently-released local government guideline.

The guideline, jointly rolled out by the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Sports and the Fujian Provincial Commission of Economy and Information Technology, aims to further improve the strength and competitiveness of the sports goods manufacturing industry in the province.

That industry is one of Fujian's industrial pillars. The province is already home to many sports manufacturers including Anta, 361 Degrees, Xtep, Peak Sport Products and Septwolves.

Not willing to rest on its laurels, the province is ramping up investment to improve its research and innovation capabilities in the industry and will set up R&D institutes and detection centers in the coming years, according to the guideline.

It will cultivate a batch of sports brands with stronger domestic competitiveness and strive to build up three to five brands with wide international recognition.

On top of ordinary sports goods, the province is looking to the development of smart sports gadgets through combined development of sports and cutting-edge internet technologies.

By 2020, the sports industry in Fujian should be generating 380 billion yuan( $57.4 billion) in revenue, which will make the province home to the largest sports goods manufacturing base in the country.

A poster of the latest version of basketball shoes by Anta, a Fujian-based sports manufacturer. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]