CGTN published an article analyzing how 2025 Asian Winter Games opens a new channel for the comprehensive revitalization of northeast China. It highlights how local business and tourism take advantage of the ice and sbow economy and the games. Also, the article stresses how the regions in northeast China are determined to technology innovation and international cooperation.
“Yesterday, the shelves were still full, but today there are only a few snowboards left. I have to arrange for replenishment overnight,” said Dong Baiquan, the head of a company selling sporting goods in Harbin City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
Dong said that his company’s sales of helmets, goggles and ice skates have been better than in previous years. The sales have increased from seven million yuan (over $970,000) two years ago to over 10 million yuan (about $1.4 million).
Years after the 2022 Winter Olympics, there has been a sustained passion for winter sports across China. With the arrival of the ice and snow season, and as the 9th Asian Winter Games is about to open in Harbin, the city and other regions in northeast China have become top destinations for both domestic and international tourists and enthusiasts of winter sports.
Tourism with distinctive cultural features should be vigorously developed, said Chinese President Xi Jinping during his inspection in Heilongjiang in September 2023. He also stressed that the winter economy should be fostered as a new source of growth, promoting the overall development of sports, culture, equipment and tourism related to ice and snow.
Tourism and winter sports boom
According to a report released by the China Tourism Academy, in the winter season from 2023 to 2024, Harbin alone received more than 87 million visits, a 300 percent year-on-year increase. The city also achieved a tourism revenue of 124.8 billion yuan (over $17 billion), a 500 percent year-on-year increase.
Also, local companies selling sports gear welcomed a surge in orders and sales.
“In the past, the average annual sales were 5,000 pairs of ski boots and 3,000 ski bindings. By the beginning of 2023, the sales of both products had exceeded 10,000 units,” said Li Zhibo, the vice general manager of the Haibin Ganmao Xuelong sporting goods company.
In December 2024, the office of the Central Leading Group for Coordinated Regional Development released the “Implementation Plan for Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Ice and Snow Economy in Northeast China and Achieving New Breakthroughs in Comprehensive Revitalization,” which provides a specific blueprint for fostering the ice and snow economy as a new driver of revitalization in northeast China.
Both the tourism and winter sports boom in Harbin will have a positive impact on the comprehensive revitalization in northeast China, which consists of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.
Regional revitalization
On January 23, Chinese President Xi Jinping made remarks when he visited a cold rolling mill of Bensteel Group in Benxi City, northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
“The steel industry is an important basic industry of the country and the real economy is the foundation of the national economy,” Xi said, urging continued efforts to strengthen weak links, optimize industrial structures and contribute more to Chinese modernization.
Currently, the region is upbeat about the future, driven by its revitalization efforts and strategic moves based on innovation and opening-up.
According to the provincial information office, Liaoning’s GDP surpassed 3.2 trillion yuan (over $445 billion) in 2024, marking a 5.1 percent year-on-year increase. The province has consistently outpaced the national average for several consecutive quarters. Data from Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia also indicate a steady improvement in economic performance.
The four regions also set new goals for 2025 with new productive forces serving as catalysts for achieving them.
Implementing the “Artificial Intelligence Plus” initiative, exploring low-altitude economy and establishing computing power infrastructure are new measures proposed by the regions.
Better prospects abroad
Northeast China is an important gateway for China’s opening to the north, playing a vital strategic role in strengthening Northeast Asia regional cooperation.
As the main port for the export and import of automobiles, Dalian Port of Liaoning Province exported over 100,000 vehicles in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 143 percent, setting a new record, according to the Liaoning Port Group.
In recent years, northeast China has accelerated the formation of an open development pattern with a focus on Northeast Asia, seizing opportunities such as the “Ice Silk Road,” the “China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor” and the “Changjitu Development and Opening-up Pilot Zone.”
Foreign-invested enterprises continue to be optimistic about the prospects of the regions.
“By 2025, the number of Lawson stores in Liaoning will increase from the current 700 to 1,000. We are confident about the future in the province,” said Sadanobu Takemasu, President of Lawson Group, at an international investment conference in Liaoning in 2024.
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