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Customs data reveal that since the latter half of 2025, China’s exports of ice skates to Central and Eastern Europe and ski apparel to North America have recorded double-digit growth. Globally, Chinese ice and snow equipment is gaining broader acceptance and increasing trust among consumers.<\/p>\n
This\u00a0trend was on evident at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Economy Expo 2026. At a \u00a0booth from Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, Belarusian ski enthusiast\u00a0Sergeyevich examined\u00a0a pair of competition skis. “They offer better responsiveness\u00a0in\u00a0turns, improved flex, and rebound — comparable to leading international brands.”<\/p>\n
According to Li Zhibo, general manager of the exhibitor, this pair of\u00a0skis,\u00a0emblazoned with a\u00a0five-star red flag, were developed for the Chinese national aerial\u00a0skiing team.\u00a0The product\u00a0has passed four rounds of rigorous testing and is expected to appear at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n
The skis utilize aerospace-grade composite materials and precision 3D printing technology, achieving superior toughness-to-weight ratios at half the cost of comparable imports.\u00a0Its R&D team adjusts core materials\u00a0to match athlete’s power application and technique, shifting from “athlete adapts to equipment” to “equipment adapts to athlete.” This ensures top-tier performance, with multiple technical metrics meeting leading international standards.<\/p>\n
“Using equipment development for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics\u00a0as a springboard, we plan\u00a0to expand into elite-grade snowboards and alpine skis, so that\u00a0our homegrown products can gain traction both on the global circuit and\u00a0and in overseas\u00a0markets,” said Li.<\/p>\n
Not just\u00a0skis\u00a0— Chinese-made ski poles are also\u00a0gaining popularity among international consumers.<\/p>\n
At the showcase of Ninghai Better Outdoor Products Co., Ltd.\u00a0(Better)\u00a0in Ninghai county, Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang\u00a0province, a wide variety of ski poles are displayed\u00a0— foldable, telescopic, ultra-lightweight.<\/p>\n
A training pole designed for beginner alpine skiers has emerged as a star product, especially popular overseas. Exceptionally light and constructed\u00a0from aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, each pole weighs under 200 grams. Besides, it offers reliable stability, featuring an ergonomically designed grip made from a special anti-slip material that ensures a firm hold even when wearing gloves.<\/p>\n
“To align with\u00a0European and American consumers, we enlarged the grip size and refined the telescopic mechanism,” said\u00a0Guo Jinlong, the company’s foreign trade manager. During the 2025 snow season, overseas orders for this model exceeded 400,000 pairs, a 30\u00a0percent\u00a0increase from a year ago.<\/p>\n
The company currently exports over 5\u00a0million pairs of sports poles annually, primarily to Europe and North America, and is actively\u00a0expanding into new markets, including South American countries like Chile and Colombia.<\/p>\n
Better is not alone\u00a0in Ninghai. In fact, about 70\u00a0percent\u00a0of China’s exported ski poles originate from this county. Centered around\u00a0products like ski poles, the local winter sports\u00a0equipment industry has built a complete supply chain\u00a0covering tubing, locks, grips, and assembly, with an annual output value approaching 1 billion yuan\u00a0($143.96 million).<\/p>\n
Today, the journey from an aluminum alloy tube to a finished ski pole can be completed entirely within the county. “We can deliver a sample from a client’s idea in just seven days and move into mass production within 30,” said Zhu Xuefeng, the company’s general manager.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a well-developed industrial cluster and highly efficient, flexible production systems,\u00a0manufacturers in Ninghai maintain robust capacity and\u00a0a strong price-performance advantage. For comparable performance, Better’s offerings are priced at around 60\u00a0percent\u00a0of what European or American brands charge.<\/p>\n
To succeed in global markets, products must align with international rules and practices. Customs officials frequently visit factories during peak seasons to expedite clearance, offering technical guidance, establishing priority clearance channels for ski equipment exports, and providing compliance briefings to help companies navigate regulatory risks.<\/p>\n
“To help enterprises seize opportunities\u00a0and expand international markets, we actively promote customs\u00a0clearance models like ‘advance declaration’ and implement facilitation measures to accelerate processing and reduce costs,” said Tian Mingchao, an official with\u00a0Ningbo Customs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Guo Xiaolong, Dou Hao, People’s Daily Driven by surging interest in\u00a0winter\u00a0sports, China’s winter sports\u00a0equipment industry has expanded rapidly\u00a0in recent years. Supported by a maturing industrial ecosystem,\u00a0Chinese manufacturers continue to deliver\u00a0high-quality products\u00a0and\u00a0steadily strengthen their competitiveness and brand recognition in overseas markets. Customs data reveal that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,433],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n