STORY: China's thriving winter sports boost confidence in sports equipment sector
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 6, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 8, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: HARBIN, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of China's ice and snow economy
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI XIANGDONG, General manager of a sports equipment company in Harbin, NE China
3. various of winter sports equipment
4. various of China's ice and snow economy

STORYLINE:

China's thriving winter sports has boosted confidence in sports equipment sector, said a company executive in Harbin, China.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI XIANGDONG, General manager of a sports equipment company in Harbin, NE China
"Our company currently focuses on two aspects: the professional grade equipment that meets the standards for world-class competitions, and the mass-market products designed to support the (government's policy of) engaging 300 million Chinese people in winter sports.
The active participation in winter sports across the country has a great impact on us. The booming winter sports economy has given us more confidence and broader prospects. The 9th Asian Winter Games has brought more development opportunities, encouraging more people to engage in winter sports. As participation grows, naturally, more people will purchase our equipment."

The 9th Asian Winter Games, running from February 7 to 14 in Harbin, represents another major international winter sports event hosted by China following the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

The primary goal of hosting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was to "engage 300 million people in ice-and-snow sports." Thanks to the promotion and popularization of ice-and-snow sports, the goal is now a reality.

The rapid growth of winter sports is injecting fresh momentum into the winter sports equipment industry in China.

Now, the country boasts a comprehensive suite of 15 categories of ice-and-snow equipment across the supply chain, from headgear to footwear, individual gear to venue equipment, and competitive apparatus to recreational tools.

According to guidelines released by the State Council last year, China aims to boost its ice-and-snow economy as a new source of growth, targeting an economic scale of 1.2 trillion yuan (164.6 billion U.S. dollars) by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Harbin, China.
(XHTV)