The Power and Gold Coast Suns played for premiership points in round eight this year at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai, with that fixture expected to be reprised in early May next year.

Ahead of appearing as a guest speaker at an AustCham??? business event in Hong Kong on Friday, and at the annual Shanghai Sports Summit conference on Monday, Thomas said preliminary discussions had begun about how the Chinese market could look over the next 10 to 15 years.

This includes the expansion of junior participation, development of facilities, whether the AFL and Power needed a satellite office based in China and how the various components should be funded.

It also includes how much elite-level action should be staged, with a men's pre-season game and an AFLW match a possibility and held either on the same day or over a weekend. Both competitions are held through February and March.

Thomas said a pre-season clash within the next five years could work.

"We are starting to think about the future of Australian football in China ... how does the game develop in China? They are very significant discussions that are starting to be held based on the enthusiasm everyone had coming out of the Shanghai game in 2017," Thomas said.

"There certainly is an argument for a pre-season game and the Shanghai game. I think, at some point, we would want to have that conversation. One of the things that we are interested in as a game is ensuring we are present in China as often as we can be. Another major event if it was in the pre-season would be just another way of making sure our commitment to being in China was obvious. There would be regions outside of Shanghai that we would be aware of that would be interested in that. I think that requires good consideration."

Thomas said an AFLW clash would work well in terms of the "ground zero" process in China where the AFL was appealing to boys and girls to take up the sport.

"Taking AFLW to China as part of the build process is absolutely something we should seriously consider and do, so you don't have the same scenario as we have got in Australia where the girls are coming from a long way back. Here is the chance to show Australian football is for girls and boys right from the start," he said.

The Power do not have an AFLW licence but have not ruled out joining beyond 2020.

The AFL has yet to confirm the Suns will be the Power's opponent next year but Suns chief executive Mark Evans continues to work on a detailed plan with league bosses.

The Suns' inability to secure sponsors, their frustration over their flights and later a delay on the tarmac in Singapore, and their on-field performance when thumped by 72 points by the Power concerned the AFL but the experienced Evans had only just taken charge of the club.

The Power want to increase the capacity of the stadium next year from about 10,000 to 13,000, and believe they have found a way to ensure the seating is full, as opposed to this year when many Australian supporters spent the afternoon in the sponsor tents. There were about 3000 locals who attended the game, with more tourist activities planned for next year.

Thomas said there had been five million television viewers in China but this would increase next year with changes made. He said the Power had generated $6 million in revenue to support the Shanghai project, with these funds reinvested into the event. The match and its associated costs were about $4 million.

Now the Power had "proof of concept", Thomas said the opportunity to present at Asian sports forums was a sign of the growing "diplomacy" between the various parties. His speech in Shanghai will discuss the Power's China strategy and how they managed to bring a professional sport to the region.

"The whole idea about sport diplomacy is bringing people together ... it enables us to break down barriers, whether they be cultural, language or just in the area of trust," Thomas said.

"I think sport is a very powerful platform to achieve those goals. That's why these sports diplomacy summits that are happening in China are so important. For Port Adelaide to be headlining those opportunities is really quite a special opportunity for us."