China’s ice and snow equipment sector is expected to hit the fast track as the country embraces the 2022 Winter Olympics, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The industry hopes to realize sales of more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.89 billion) annually by 2020, translating to an average annual growth rate of 20%, the report said, citing a joint statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Sport of China and other seven government authorities.
The authorities also expect the overall ice and snow equipment market size to reach 600 billion yuan by 2020 and 1 trillion yuan by 2025.
China also plans to nurture several well-known brands and companies with global competitiveness in this field and develop several recreation and tourism complexes for winter sports participants.
A total of 30 ice and snow sports arenas will be selected to be equipped with smart technologies such as artificial intelligence and wearable devices to make them more interactive and energy-efficient, the statement said.