To Engage 300 Million Chinese in Sport on Snow and Ice

By preparing the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games， to engage 300 million people in sport on snow and ice and vigorously promote the development of snow and ice sports in the country is an important strategic arrangement by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core， and also it is a solemn pledge that China made to the international community. The General Administration of Sport of China （GAS） has made efforts centering on achieving the development goal of “engaging 300 million people in sport on snow and ice”， and implementing the people centered development philosophy by vigorously developing popular snow and ice sports and laying a solid foundation for further developing snow and ice sports. As indicated by the “Engaging 300 Million People in Sport on Snow and Ice” statistic report on January 12， 2022 of the National Bureau of Statistics of China （NBS）， the number of participants in sport on snow and ice nationwide reached 346 million， resident participation rate standing at 24.56 percent， whereby China has reached the goal of “engaging 300 million people in sport on snow and ice”， honored its pledge to international community， and China’s snow and ice sports have undergone leapfrog development.

I.Great Significance of Developing Snow and Ice Sports Enhances Sense of Mission and Responsibility

Since the successful bidding of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics， General Secretary Xi Jinping has paid five on-site inspection visits to preparation work and on several major occasions made a series of important oral and written instructions on developing snow and ice sports， setting great store by preparing the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and developing snow and ice sports. In recent years， the national sports system has clearly understood and kept in mind the significance of developing snow and ice sports for achieving China’s second centenary goal， and made solid efforts for continued development of snow and ice sports.

First， it is imperative to understand that developing snow and ice sports is a necessary requirement for building a leading sports nation. As snow and ice sports “make half the sky” in modern sports， it is necessary for China， as a big sports nation that aspires to become a leading sports nation， to give priority to and accelerate its efforts in this area to make up for the shortfall. Snow and ice sports in China started late and had a weak foundation， and comparing with countries strong in snow and ice sports， and with China’s own summer sports， its competitive level was low， popular participation was narrow， and industrial base was hollow. From the strategic plan of building a leading sports nation， the GAS has in recent years attached great importance to developing snow and ice sports， aimed at using a leapfrog development of snow and ice sports to push for the building of a leading sports nation， and striven for a balanced development of summer and winter sports， thereby providing a more effective guarantee for realizing a leading sports nation.

Second， it is necessary to understand that developing snow and ice sports is an important support for actualizing the Healthy China Initiative. Without good health of the whole people， there would be hardly a comprehensive moderately prosperous society. And as the general public have a strong desire to participate in snow and ice sports， it is necessary to go by the People First philosophy， and continue to satisfy the people’s ever increasing needs for snow and ice sports by constructing a more regulated， more complete development mechanism for popular snow and ice sports. In recent years， the national sports system has made vigorous efforts in developing snow and ice sports， and forcefully induced flourishing development of indoor ski area/ice rink and on-campus snow and ice sports， resulting in the fact that snow and ice sports， which used to be limited to the Northeastern region， have increasingly expanded to other regions， and the said sports that used to be carried out only in winter， has become a new fashion of all-season metropolitan recreational activities， all this greatly gratifying the people’s ever increasing enthusiasm for snow and ice sports.

Third， it is necessary to understand that developing snow and ice sports is an important integral part of a new development paradigm featuring dual-circulation that China is building. As the industrial chain of snow and ice sports is long， its scale of investment is huge and its radiating effect is strong， it plays an ever-increasing important role in actualizing sustainable， high quality economic development. In recent years， while trying to better satisfy the people’s ever-increasing needs for personalized and diversified consumption， and contribute to the domestic circulation of the economy， the GAS has continued to expand cooperation areas with international sports organizations， jointly working for the development of snow and ice industry in post-Winter Olympic era， endeavoring to build for snow and ice industry a new development paradigm featuring domestic circulation and international circulation mutually promoting one another， aiming to heighten quality and increase efficiency in boosting China’s efforts to advance economic and social development and to transform and upgrade economic structure.

II.Seizing Opportunity to Take Multiple Measures to Advance Development of Snow and Ice Sports

The GAS and the national sports system have thoroughly implemented the essence of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important remarks on developing snow and ice sports and relevant oral and written instructions， united forces of various parties， and mobilized their resources so as to synergize in promoting the development of popular snow and ice sports. Focusing on the big picture， they have vigorously pushed for snow and ice sports to go further afield， extensively building platforms of sporting events on the people’s doorsteps， and actively promoting construction of snow and ice organizations on the people’s doorsteps so as to organize and guide more people to go to ice rinks and ski areas and truly improve the development level of snow and ice sports.