In 1939, Kong Xiangxi was selected as the second IOC member for China.

After China won the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1945, Wang Zhengyan, Yuan Dunli, Dong Shouyi, together with other Chinese gymnasts, suggested China host the 15th Olympics in 1952.

In 1947, Dong Shouyi was appointed the third Chinese IOC member.

The 12th and 13th Olympiads had not been held due to the Second World War, but for the 14th Olympics in London in 1948, China dispatched a 52-member delegation, consisting of 33 contenders for track and field, swimming, football, basketball, as well as cycling events. The results were disappointing, as all were eliminated in the preliminary contests. What was more, the delegation had to borrow money to make it back home.

After the overthrow of the Kuomintang government and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the All-China Athletic Association was reorganized into the All-China Sports Federation (Chinese Olympic Committee), and its headquarters moved from Nanjing to Beijing.

In February 1952, the federation expressed its willingness to the IOC to take part in the 15th Olympic Games in Helsinki. But an obstacle appeared when some Olympic committee members who had fled to the island of Taiwan with the Kuomintang claimed that they should represent China at the Olympics. On July 17, just two days before the opening of the games, the IOC passed a resolution inviting athletes from the People's Republic of China. Of them, only Wu Chuanyu got passed the qualifiers with a time of 1min 12.3s in the men's 100m-backstroke. The Chinese football and basketball teams played friendly games with their Finish counterparts.

In May 1954, the IOC recognized the All-China Sports Federation as the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) with 23 votes for and 21 against at its 50th session in Athens.