World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) established a new position to oversee its operations in China, showing another step towards global expansion.

WWE appointed Jay Li as Vice President and General Manager of Greater China, with its headquarter based in Shanghai. Li will be directly under Ed Wells, executive vice president of WWE International.

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Li will manage the daily operations and business development of WWE in China. He is also tasked to cooperate with the local government officials and WWE strategic partners in the fields of merchandising, television, sponsorship, licensing, among others.

"China is strategically important for WWE and we are confident that Jay will help successfully develop our brand and business in the market," said Gerrit Meier, president of WWE International.

"We remain committed to expanding WWE internationally, and our presence in China is critical to the company's future growth."

Li has been holding corporate leadership positions both in the United States and China. Before joining the WWE, Li served as general manager for Skullcandy Inc. China where he helped the headphone maker's business kick off,, boost its annual sales, and increase brand awareness especially among the youth.

Prior to his career in Skullcandy, he used to be the vice president and general manager of the international division of China's leading sporting goods Li Ning Company Limited, where he played a significant role in helping the company achieve an annual revenue of over $1.4 billion.

He has played executive roles at IBM and Andersen Consulting. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Politics and Economics degree from Middlebury College and graduated as summa cum laude, Wrestling Inc. reported.

WWE executives believe that the company will see potential growth opportunities internationally, especially after it unveiled its paid streaming service called WWE Network in 2014.

Although WWE Network is not available in China yet, George Barrios, WWE's chief strategy and financial officer, said WWE will begin working on launch plans for China, the Philippines and Thailand.

"I think you will hear from us over the next 12 months in at least one or two of those, if not all three," he said.

So far, WWE's 24-hour video service is available in 180 countries across Asia, Europe and other regions.

By the end of 2015, WWE posted nearly 280,000 paid international subscribers, accounting for 23 percent of its global total. It also ranked fifth among the most famous direct-to-consumer subscription service next to Netflix, Amazon.com, Hulu and MLB.TV, according to Citing Parks Associates as reported by Fox Business.

Tagswwe, World Wrestling Entertainment, Jay Li, WWE Network, WWE International, china expansion