Switzerland offers winter sports training for China's universities

International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS), a non-profit foundation based in Switzerland, has signed cooperation agreements with universities in China, to provide winter sports training, said Claude Stricker, vice-president of Sion Olympic Committee of Switzerland on Wednesday.

Switzerland has played a leading role in winter sports. Since China has successfully bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, China and Switzerland can promote more inter-governmental cooperation in winter sports, Stricker said.

According to the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, the city selected 52 schools in the fall semester for a pilot program to offer winter sports training at local rinks and resorts as part of a national plan to expand a similar program to 2,000 schools by 2022.

To promote winter sports among the public in the build-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China plans to build 650 skating rinks and 800 ski resorts by 2022, laying the foundation for 300 million people to be involved in winter sports by 2022.

For businesses, China plans to generate aggregate revenues of 1 trillion yuan ($151 billion) by 2025 from spending at venues, and on equipment production and training fees.

China is also expecting a boom in winter-sport tourism as local authorities rush to tap opportunities presented by the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.