HARBIN — As China vigorously develops the ice and snow economy to boost consumption, homegrown gear makers are aiming for rapid growth in the winter sports market, seeking to catch up with foreign brands that have long dominated the sector.

The momentum was on full display at the 2026 Harbin International Ice and Snow Economy Expo, a three-day trade fair drawing over 300 ice-and-snow sports gear makers from more than 20 countries and regions.

Amid the buzz, a clear narrative emerged as Chinese companies harness local manufacturing expertise and a booming domestic winter sports market to strengthen their competitiveness.

The expo concluded earlier this month in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

China's burgeoning winter sports sector showcased high-performance gear products ranging from futuristic unmanned snow removal machines, carbon fiber skis, to low-temperature resistant solid-state batteries.

Li Zhibo, general manager of Harbin Qianmao Snow Dragon Sports Equipment Co Ltd, presented a sleek black snowboard at the fair. "This is a competition snowboard that we developed specifically for China's national team," he said.

Boasting aerospace-grade composite materials to keep the snowboards lightweight and more durable, while costing half as much as imported products, the new model is expected to debut at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics scheduled from Feb 6 to 22 this year, according to Li.

Established in 2002, Qianmao's full range of ski products is available in 80 percent of ski resorts across China.

Li said that with national policy support to boost the ice and snow economy, along with China hosting the Asian Winter Games in Harbin in 2025, the country's ice and snow equipment manufacturing industry has a great opportunity to grow.

At the expo, Bingxuehuanteng Sports Equipment Technology (Harbin) Co Ltd launched 13 new products featuring aerospacegrade carbon fiber technology that reduces weight without compromising strength, which attracted the attention of many skiing enthusiasts and industry insiders.

Qin Wenbao, product manager of the company, said that the company has formed a partnership with Chinese research units and universities such as the Harbin Institute of Technology to boost its competitiveness.

Yu Yang, president of Beijing Carving Ski Sports Development Group Co Ltd, said China is a latecomer in the global ice and snow equipment manufacturing industry, so it will still take time for domestic companies to carve out space in the global market.

Despite the world's leading snowmaking machine maker, Italy's TechnoAlpin, being present at the expo, Yu noted that the Chinese company still found a niche market for its new product — a snowmaking machine featuring energy-efficient and environmentally friendly effects.

The global supply sector is also looking to seize new opportunities amid the boom in ice-and-snow tourism.

TechnoAlpin, which holds around 60 percent of the global market for snowmaking systems, reported that about 90 percent of ski resorts in China use its snowmaking machines.

Shen Yumei, marketing director for the company's China business, said that the boom in winter sports in China is giving global enterprises greater confidence in the market.

"We plan to build the company's fourth-largest global equipment center in China, serving markets across other Asian countries. The company's advanced ice and snow technologies and experiences will contribute to the vigorous development of China's ice and snow sports and industry," Shen added.

According to a China Tourism Academy report released at the Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum 2026 in Harbin earlier this month, China's ice and snow tourism is entering "a new stage of sustained prosperity," with more than 14,000 related enterprises operating in the sector at the end of 2025, up 11 percent year-on-year.

The scale of China's ice and snow economy exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) in 2025, nearly four times its size of 270 billion yuan in 2015.

Xinhua