China’s economy is undergoing a transition from a highly leveraged model driven by the real estate industry to a more balanced model in which consumption plays a larger part. Among the array of strategies laid out by the government to realize this ambition, a rather new effort has emerged into the public sphere – the creation and promotion of an “ice and snow economy”.

A recent policy document from China’s State Council dictates the ice and snow economy – economic activities and value chains related to winter sports, such as ice skiing, skating and snowboarding – to be the new growth engine for China to achieve its economic transition towards high-quality development.

China plans, according to the policy guidance, to attract some 300 million people into playing winter sports and enjoying ice and snow leisure activities. It envisions the ice and snow economy growing into a 1.2-trillion-yuan (US$16.7 billion) sector by 2027, and 1.5-trillion-yuan one by 2030.

The value chain of the ice and snow economy is extensive, from ice sports outfit and equipment sales, to training, leisure and resort operations. As a result, a burgeoning ice and snow economy is expected to bring in more jobs, stimulate consumption and foster the diversification of China’s economic development.

Specifically, the document identifies the ice and snow economy as a “key growth point” driving domestic consumption, and it promises that authorities will provide related industries with supportive measures, including favourable financing and refinancing arrangements, which suggest China’s decision-makers’ are trying a new growth paradigm that is more consumption-led.

As China faces economic challenges, such as overcapacity and property market woes, it is now striving to find new sectors to compensate the GDP loss from the real estate industry and mitigate the pain from the upgrade of this industry.

Under the umbrella term of “new quality productive forces”, China’s policymakers and industrialists are experimenting with a series of emerging and promising industries through policy and financing support. Previous themes identified include the “green economy”, featuring renewable energies and electrical vehicles; the “digital economy”, featuring internet of things and artificial intelligence; and the “low-altitude economy”, featuring drone delivery and air mobility services – all of which are estimated by officials to have the ability to boost China’s GDP by trillions of yuan.

The passion for winter sports and recreational activities in China has been growing since it hosted the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Last year, Harbin, the country’s northern city – famous for its snow and ice – was booming as a tourism destination, attracting 10 million visitors and generating a revenue of over 16.4 billion yuan just during the two-week new year festival.  

China’s ambitions for the ice and snow economy extend beyond the northern regions, where ice and snow are natural endowments, to the snowless south, west and east regions. In Shenzhen, the vibrant southern city and the nexus of the Greater Bay Area, a gigantic indoor ski resort is now under construction. Featuring a 100,000-square-metre building and a 441-metre-long skiing track with a vertical drop of 83 metres, the facility, which is set to be completed and opened in 2025, will become the largest indoor ski resort in the world.

Following the policy guidance, several listed A-share companies under the leisure and hospitality rubric, particularly those whose businesses involve snow and ice activities, saw an uptick in their stock prices.

Now, as winter comes and China has a 5% GDP growth target to be achieved by the end of the year, will this new theme of a snow and ice economy bring some colour and heat to China’s economic growth – and not just for this season, but for years to come? Only time will tell.