From the Seine to the Yangtze: CrossFire China Esports Forges a New Bridge for People-to-People Exchange

Paris, France – September 2nd, 2026 –During the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris, CrossFire (CF)—China and Asia’s major competitive shooting title—took center stage as one of the event’s headline disciplines at a major international esports event. China’s BS (White Shark) swept TL 3–0 to claim the championship, with BS player N9 earning the Grand Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. The result once again placed CNCF (CF’s China division) under the international esports spotlight.

During the event, the Tencent CF Esports team held a closed-door meeting with officials from France’s Ministry of Sports and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Sports offices. The French delegation was led by Emilie Montané, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Sports, accompanied by Angèle Chapoullié of the Sports Economy Office, with Marie Roy, Special Envoy for Sports Ambassador Affairs at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, also in attendance. The Chinese delegation was headed by Darren Gu (Gu Yue), Publishing Producer of the CrossFire IP and Head of CrossFire Series Esports Operations. The meeting was moderated by Xavier Spède, former Editor-in-Chief of L’Équipe.

The dialogue centered on mutual learning between Chinese and French sporting philosophies, esports industry cooperation, youth cultural exchange, and positive engagement. At the close of the meeting, the two sides exchanged gifts to mark the occasion and reached a consensus to pursue further discussions on concrete topics including future event hosting in France, club collaboration, and youth exchange programs. On the subject of large-scale event organization, the French side shared its practical experience in delivering a high-caliber international event within an extremely compressed 45-day preparation cycle, and provided specific explanations regarding visa facilitation and rights protection mechanisms for cross-border participating players. On event cooperation, the French side—based on its strong recognition of CF’s global event scale and competitive achievements—proactively proposed in-depth discussions on future CF event hosting in France and long-term development directions. The Chinese side noted that French clubs such as PSG Esports, Team Vitality, and Karmine Corp have already established CF divisions and participated in international competitions, providing a practical foundation for deeper China-France esports club collaboration. The Chinese delegation expressed willingness to actively explore broader cooperation possibilities on this basis.

During the meeting, the French side expressed recognition of CF’s international competitive achievements and discussed potential measures that could facilitate the hosting of international esports events in France, including visa procedures, administrative processes and other applicable forms of event support. The two sides also exchanged views on the broader policy and operational environment for international esports events and potential areas for continued cooperation. French representatives expressed hope that CF esports could contribute to further discussions around the development and hosting of international esports events in France.

The following day, a cross-disciplinary roundtable themed “From Family to Arena, From Reality to Digital: A Cross-Boundary Dialogue on Esports, Sports, and Youth Culture” became a notable extension of the visit. Representatives from five sectors—the French Veterans’ Association, a competitive shooting athlete’s family, the French Shooting Federation (FF-Tir), a veterans’ esports promotion organization, and the French Video Game Industry Association (AFJV)—offered their respective interpretations of “everyday heroes” from the perspectives of family guardianship, competitive training, mass promotion, team glory, and industry vision. They unanimously agreed that the spirit of perseverance, passion, and teamwork championed by CrossFire esports is highly aligned with these values. In closing, Shi Nan, Second Secretary of the Cultural Section at the Chinese Embassy in France, remarked: “CF esports has set a benchmark for going global during this Paris chapter,” adding that she “looks forward to CF esports setting sail.”

During the exchange, Darren Gu stated: “We are willing to use CF as a ‘key, bridge, and benchmark’ to promote the regular operation of more Chinese esports events between China and France.” He extended a sincere invitation to France’s Ministry of Sports to visit China and inspect CFPL league venues firsthand, to gain a direct understanding of China’s esports league operations and industry vitality. He emphasized that CF has always placed fair competition, youth development, and cultural exchange at the core of its event operations. Zhang Yuchen, Head of CrossFire Esports Operations, stated in an interview that the esports format represented by CF connects both a vast youth demographic and injects cities with a youthful, internationalized new identity.

Since its launch in China in 2008, CF has accumulated over one billion registered users and has consistently ranked among the most popular competitive shooting titles in China and across Asia. Its competition ecosystem is structured in progressive tiers: the Hundred City League spans over a hundred cities with local government support, promoting broad-based esports participation; the CrossFire Pro League (CFPL) stands as one of China’s most influential FPS professional leagues; and the CrossFire Stars (CFS) World Finals elevates the competition to the international stage.

From the award ceremony at the Grand Palais in Paris to the closed-door dialogues at France’s Ministry of Sports and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Chinese esports IPs represented by CF are advancing from “product internationalization” to “cultural internationalization” and “ecosystem internationalization.” As esports emerges as a new form of sports culture, what it connects will extend beyond victories and defeats on the competitive stage—it will be a resonance among different civilizations around the shared values of perseverance, respect, and friendship. This, in turn, reflects how esports, as an emerging form of sports culture, is becoming a new bond for promoting industrial and people-to-people exchanges between China and France.

Contact Information

Name: Mr. Zhang

Email: ccxyzhang@tencent.com

Company Name: Tencent Esports

Website: https://esports.qq.com/newband/pc/home/index.html

Country: China

City: Shenzhen

Phone: 0755-86571400