Host City Asia City Panel. From left to right: BAI Jianhai, Director of Winter Sports Promotion Office, Zhangjiakou Government; ZONG Zhenhua, Executive Vice Director, Gaoxin district of Zhangjiakou; Michael BAIRD, Strategic Advisor to the Commissioner for Greater China, State Government of Victoria, Australia; Vusi MAZIBUKO, General Manager, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban; LI Yidong, Director, Tanggangzi New Town Conference and Exhibition Centre, Anshan; Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director, Cavendish Group.

On May 31, at the Host City Asia 2018 panel discussion held in Beijing by the Cavendish Group, Zong Zhenhua, the Executive Deputy Director of Zhangjiakou High and New Tech Industry Development Zone Committee described a series of favourable government policies for Zhangjiakou to further drive its winter sports equipment industry. 

The talk was given at the panel “City Forum: The Strategic Development of Cities Through Sports, Business and Culture Events”, and was moderated by Ben Avison of Cavendish Group. The other cities/states that sent panelists to the panel were Victoria Australia, Durban and the Chinese city Anshan. 

According to Zong Zhenhua, the Zhangjiakou government is determined to nurture and develop the local winter sports equipment industry, given the opportunities that Zhangjikou offers as a co-host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics. It also complies with the guidance given by Chinese President Xi Jinping who instructed that Zhangjiakou should start and build a solid winter sports equipment industry and treat it as a key goal and direction to work for.  

Therefore, the winter sports equipment industry is a key target for Zhangjiakou High and New Tech Industry Development Zone to develop. 

According to Zong Zhenhua, they have prepared a 250,000-square-meter area to develop an industry park. The sectors and ranges of products/services that will be developed are wide-spread, from manufacturing of light equipment to that of heavy equipment, from upper-chain R&D, design and services of winter sports equipment to lower-chain operations and maintenance of snow and ice venues, from big data, VR/AR to artificial intelligence. They aim to cover the entire industry chain of winter sports manufacturing. 

Regarding the softer conditions, Zhangjiakou also aims to make very attractive financial offers. In the first three years after companies land in the industry park, all rents will be exempt while in the 4th and 5th year, only 50% of the rent is to be paid. In terms of corporate tax, Zhangjiakou city and the district will both return 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% and 50% of the corporate taxes respectively for a consecutive period of five years from their first year. The annual income tax of higher management will be returned fully for three years in a row. 

The municipal governments will also help with the park’s newcomers’ sales by allowing them to work with government administered companies to drive their sales and help them get through the first phase in the park and help them to grow stronger. 

Zong said that they had signed 5 overseas winter sports equipment companies to land in the park at the recent 2018 China (Langfang) International Economic & Trade Fair which was held in Hebei Province at the end of May. Companies from the USA, France and Switzerland have successfully settled in the park. 

Zong said they hoped to attract leading domestic and overseas winter sports equipment companies to Zhangjiakou and the Zhangjiakou High and New Tech Development Zone, to help grow this industry in Zhangjiakou. 

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick