Winter economy showcases China’s hoped-for shift to services

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Tue, February 17, 2026 at 2:59 PM GMT+9

STORY: When Luo Li opened the Wanlong ski resort in Chongli some 20 years ago he had more staff than visitors.But things changed after China hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics.That brought new transport infrastructure to the area about 124 miles from Beijing, and seven more ski resorts soon opened nearby.Once China lifted COVID-19 restrictions in early 2023, the crowds started to come.Luo says Wanlong is now profitable for a second-straight year and should exceed 600,000 visitors this year.Chongli’s economy grew about 6.5% yearly over the past five years, beating the national average.Once a farming community, today it bustles with tourists. That makes it a symbol for government moves to pour money into services like tourism, health, and entertainment.Beijing is redirecting stimulus from sometimes wasteful infrastructure to services in hopes of boosting growth. That comes as soft consumer demand hobbles the economy and existing measures to boost it prove ineffective. Last year’s figures show that spending on services accounts for less than a half of per capita consumption in China, compared to about 70% in the U.S. But the new approach follows the old “build it and they will come” model that created megacities like Shenzhen and big industrial zones.And that brings risks. Tommy Xie is the Head of Asia Macro Research at OCBC Bank.“Whether each time the supply can generate demand is always a subject of debate because in China there’s no shortage of examples. Sometimes oversupply may potentially lead to the abandoned assets. For example the theme parks. You can see a lot of provinces they build a lot of theme parks, but end up with becoming the desert, or becoming the kind of abandoned assets.” Replicating Chongli’s success hinges on raising incomes and avoiding oversupply.That is according to researcher Christopher Beddor.“You can’t really get the sustained rise in household spending - It’s currently at about 4% year-on-year growth now. Incomes are growing at about 5% thereabouts. You can’t really increase that figure (consumption) much without increasing the household income number. So, you know, we’ve seen a lot of talk about efforts to lift consumption and disposable incomes, and I think we’ll see a lot more of it because we have the five year plan coming up, and it’s pretty clear that they’re going to include something to that effect.” In recent months, Chinese state media have touted a booming “ice and snow” economy.It spans ski resorts, hospitality and gear, and is projected to grow to $217 billion by 2030.Making that happen will require Chinese people to have the money to spare for an often expensive hobby.

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