Finland to train young ice hockey players with China

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02:36

Ice hockey is becoming a bigger and bigger part of China's winter sports industry. In fact, President Xi Jinping's goal of getting 300 million Chinese involved in winter sports activities by 2022 is being helped along by a hockey-loving country: Finland. The Finnish President's visit to China happens to coincide with China-Finland cooperation on the ice, especially in training young players.

7-year-old Cai Ruijie enjoys every training session with his teammates after school at the Power Kids Hockey club in Beijing. "I enjoy the speed when playing ice hockey, which is as fast as a gust of wind, and I look so cool," said Cai when asked by CGTN why he has practiced ice hockey for three years.

Cai Ruijie (R) and his mother get ready for his ice hockey practice in Beijing. /CGTN Photo

But the little boy is dreaming even bigger as he wishes to be part of the Chinese national team and represent China in the Winter Olympics, despite the fact he is too young to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics hosted in his home country.

While most Chinese are still unfamiliar with ice hockey, Cai Ruijie and his mother understand the western winter sport quite well. "We have spent almost all of our spare time in this arena over the past three years, carrying the huge hockey bag all the time. At first, this place wasn't very crowded, but we've noticed an increasing number of kids joining this club," Tao Jing, the mother of Cai Ruijie, recalled.

After winning the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, dozens of ice sports centers like this one have opened in Beijing to meet the growing demand. But this is just a small fraction compared with the nation's ambitious goal of getting 300 million people "on the ice".

Finnish Sports Minister Sampo Terho (R) talks with Chinese businessman when attending the China-Finland Winter Sports Forum in Beijing, China, January 15, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Finland is trying to use its deep winter sports roots to help China speed up its efforts. Led by government officials, the Finnish business delegation has visited China twice in a year to seek collaboration in the ice and snow.

"It's part of our heritage and our culture. Personally, when I was young, I skied to school. Winter sports are in our genes," Finnish Sports Minister Sampo Terho shared with CGTN.

As 2019 marks the year of China-Finland winter sports, more collaborative projects are expected in various fields. "We do have businesses, like building the ice arenas for multi-purposes not just for ice hockey, and we have know-how in coaching, equipment building and anything you can imagine," Mr. Terho added.

By better promoting its winter sports business, the Nordic country also set up a cluster named "Finnish Winter Sports Exports" which integrates all governmental level efforts regarding the development of winter sports in China.

The junior team of Beijing Kunlun Red Star participates in an exhibition game with Finland's Jokeit hockey club in Beijing, China, January 14, 2019. /CGTN Photo

And business insiders are pinning great hopes on collaboration in training young players. For instance, Beijing Kunlun Red Star Hockey Club is negotiating with Finland's Jokerit for future projects.

"With a relatively small population, Finland's success in ice hockey is largely because of its mature youth training system. Meanwhile, the Finnish team has a very strong team spirit. These are things we should learn from Finland through our cooperation," Monna Ao, president of Kunlun Red Star, told CGTN.

The junior team of Beijing Kunlun Red Star participates in an exhibition game with Finland's Jokeit hockey club in Beijing, China, January 14, 2019. /CGTN Photo

In Monday's exhibition game, the junior team of Kunlun Red Star won a landslide victory over the visiting Jokeit from Finland. The score proves at least one thing: China has great enthusiasm for its winter sports industry.