German sportswear giant Adidas announced on Wednesday that its sales in Greater China went up by 8 percent on a currency-neutral basis in 2023.

In Greater China, sales were registered at 3.19 billion euros (3.49 billion U.S. dollars), according to the financial report published by Adidas.

The report also said that Adidas' global revenue for 2023 stood at 21.427 billion euros, remaining stable compared to 2022 after adjusting for currency fluctuations.

The operating profit was 268 million euros, nearly 1 billion euros higher than the initial forecast, with the gross margin increasing to 47.5 percent for the year.

Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden told Xinhua Wednesday that the Chinese market will continue to be the driving force for Adidas' performance growth.

Gulden said an increasing number of Chinese people are showing interest in sports and growing more confident in their culture, adding that fashion, trends and creative directions are increasingly originating from China.

"And needless to say, China is a very important market for us where we hope that we will grow, take market share and be successful," Gulden said.

Adidas forecasts a mid-single-digit rate of global revenue growth for 2024, with anticipated double-digit increases in Greater China and Latin America.

However, given the high inventory levels and declining demand that persist, a mid-single-digit rate drop in sales in the North American market is anticipated this year, making it the only Adidas market projected to experience a downturn in revenue. (1 euro=1.09 U.S. dollars)