Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

The Global Tourism Economy Forum 2025 Summit is being held in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, from Monday to Wednesday. Founded in 2012 in the Macao Special Administrative Region, the forum's decision to convene for the first time in Harbin - a city recognized for its ice-and-snow economy - carries symbolic significance. It shows that China's ice-and-snow economy is entering a new phase marked by greater openness and diversification.

China's ice-and-snow economy is undergoing rapid development. What was once a sector driven largely by major sporting events is evolving into a sustainable industrial ecosystem underpinned by advanced manufacturing, technological innovation, and green development. This shift opens new growth space for global cooperation across the ice-and-snow value chain and provides a lens to observe China's broader transition toward high-quality economic development.

Participation in ice-and-snow sports in China is surging, driving demand across equipment manufacturing, venue construction and operation, training and education and winter tourism. Consumption is upgrading from experience-oriented participation to more professional, high-quality, and specialized demand - creating fertile ground for international brands, technologies, and service providers.

According to a 2025 PwC report on China's ice-and-snow industry, the sector has entered a "golden development period." From a global perspective, China - representing a major emerging market - is leveraging the influence of international sporting events to accelerate growth, reshape the global ice-and-snow sports landscape, and generate expanding opportunities for both domestic and international industry participants.

Heilongjiang Province offers a compelling case in point. In 2024, the province's ice-and-snow economy reached a scale of about 266.17 billion yuan ($37.77 billion), with ice-and-snow tourism accounting for about 182.33 billion yuan. These figures underscore the role of ice-and-snow tourism as one of the most dynamic consumption engines of the year, stimulating growth across hospitality, transportation, catering, retail, and related services.

Beyond tourism, the ice-and-snow economy also highlights the broader upgrading of Chinese manufacturing toward higher-end, smarter, and greener development. With enterprises as the main drivers and technological innovation as the core engine, new quality productive forces are taking shape across the sector.

China is accelerating iteration in key technological fields such as venue construction, artificial snowmaking, energy-efficient refrigeration, and intelligent operations. There is broad scope for joint research and development (R&D), technology transfer, and the co-development of standards between Chinese and international companies, particularly in green refrigerants, low-carbon energy systems, smart equipment, and event management technologies.

Low-carbon development has become a defining feature of China's ice-and-snow industry. From energy-efficient venues to the circular use of materials, China is building replicable models for sustainable winter sports worldwide, while creating tangible opportunities for global green-technology companies.

For instance, Changchun Bainingdun Sports Equipment Co has significantly increased R&D investment in recent years, establishing partnerships with multiple universities. Its newly developed 3D-printed titanium alloy speed skating blade has achieved breakthroughs in weight, strength, and stability, according to the People's Daily. The advancement of a single blade reflects broader progress in materials science, intelligent manufacturing, and digital design across China's industrial system.

Low-carbon transformation is equally evident in energy-intensive ice rink construction. An indoor ice rink covering 1,650 square meters, built by the Bingshan Group in Dalian, adopts carbon dioxide refrigeration technology, replacing conventional refrigerants and significantly reducing carbon emissions.

That continuous commitment is translating into competitiveness. Since establishing its ice-and-snow business division in 2015, Bingshan Group has systematically expanded into ice rink construction and renovation, and it now holds more than 60 percent of China's domestic indoor ice rink market.

Across equipment manufacturing, tourism operations, and capital cooperation, the ice-and-snow economy is emerging as a new platform connecting China with the global market. It is not only creating opportunities for domestic enterprises amid consumption upgrading, but also offering international partners a growing arena for industrial collaboration, technological innovation, and sustainable development.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn