Financial support accelerates development of China's Ice and Snow economy

Editor's note: The article, written by Liu Qiang, a research fellow at the Academy of Financial Research, School of Economics of Zhejiang University of China, reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

From "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" to "snow and ice are also valuable assets," the enriched connotation and scientific guidance of the "Two Mountains" theory has charted a critical direction for China's development of the ice and snow economy. 

As an emerging industry, the ice and snow economy is becoming not only a new driver of high-quality development but also a fresh avenue for opening up in Northeast China. Nevertheless, this nascent sector faces practical challenges such as financing difficulties and high operational costs. 

Given this context, the financial sector, as a key enabler of industrial growth, should innovate service models tailored to the characteristics of the ice and snow economy while strengthening monetary support to accelerate its expansion.

Interest Subsidies for Loans: Targeted Support to Reduce Financial Costs

Loan interest subsidies could be strategically designed to align with the unique needs of ice and snow enterprises. For instance, priority could be given to ski resort construction, R&D in ice and snow equipment, and other pivotal sectors. By implementing such measures, government-backed interest subsidy policies would attract more social capital into the ice and snow industry.

To illustrate, with state-supported interest subsidies, financial institutions might demonstrate greater willingness to lend to ice and snow enterprises, thereby establishing a virtuous cycle of "government guidance + market participation." It is worth emphasizing that financing costs remain a critical barrier for growing ice and snow businesses. By alleviating interest burdens, companies could reallocate savings to technology R&D, market expansion, and other competitiveness-enhancing initiatives.

Policy Guarantees: Resolve Financing Challenges

Many ice and snow startups struggle to secure bank loans due to insufficient collateral or limited credit histories. In such cases, policy-backed guarantees could provide essential credit enhancement services, effectively bridging the trust gap between financial institutions and these enterprises.

Moreover, such guarantees would reduce banks' risk exposure, thereby incentivizing them to relax loan conditions for ice and snow businesses. Beyond risk mitigation, policy guarantee institutions could act as intermediaries, facilitating communication between stakeholders and fostering tailored financial solutions. Ultimately, these measures would empower startups to overcome initial financing hurdles while ensuring sustainable industry growth.

Risk Compensation: Building a Sustainable Ecosystem

The ice and snow economy faces inherent cyclical and seasonal risks that create investment uncertainties. To address this challenge, establishing risk compensation funds enables governments and financial institutions to share operational risks, thereby alleviating lenders’ concerns about market volatility.

Moreover, this risk-sharing mechanism simultaneously incentivizes financial innovation by encouraging institutions to develop tailored financial products. For instance, specialized instruments could include long-term loans for ski resort infrastructure development or customized insurance schemes for weather-dependent ice and snow events.

Beyond addressing immediate financing barriers, the risk compensation framework creates fundamental conditions for sustainable industrial growth. Specifically, a stable financial support system allows ice and snow enterprises to prioritize business expansion and technological upgrades, while maintaining resilience against seasonal fluctuations.

Fintech Empowerment: Combining Industrial Characteristics

Digital payment innovations and inclusive financial services present opportunities to deepen consumer engagement in ice and snow activities. A practical implementation could involve enterprise groups collaborating with ski resorts, hospitality providers, and equipment rental services to create integrated payment platforms through smart aggregated payment systems.

Currently, financial institutions could develop specialized installment products – such as ski pass payment plans or equipment financing schemes – by constructing user credit profiles based on transactional data analytics.

Given the climate-sensitive nature of snow sports, insurance providers could enhance risk management through the strategic integration of meteorological satellite data and real-time snow quality monitoring. This data convergence enables the creation of dynamic weather index insurance products that automatically adjust coverage parameters in response to changing environmental conditions.

Multi-stakeholder Collaboration: Establishing a Comprehensive Support System

Financial sector support for the ice and snow economy requires holistic strategies rather than isolated interventions. First, governments should establish policy frameworks that provide fiscal incentives and infrastructure funding, while concurrently encouraging private capital participation through public-private partnerships.

Meanwhile, financial institutions need to strengthen cross-sector collaboration with technology firms to co-develop specialized financial solutions. For example, tech companies could provide big data analytics capabilities to help banks assess the creditworthiness of snow tourism businesses, whereas financial institutions contribute risk management expertise to optimize product design. Ultimately, this multi-dimensional approach – combining risk mitigation mechanisms, technological innovation, and institutional collaboration – forms the foundation for a long-term, stable growth in the ice and snow industry.

In the future, the key to achieving high-quality development of the ice and snow economy through financial support will depend on leveraging technological solutions to mitigate financing risks caused by seasonality and climatic factors, while establishing sustainable and systematic financial mechanisms to ensure the industry's long-term growth.