Ding Shizhong, a deputy to the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, calls for more support for winter sports development in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ding Shizhong, a deputy to the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, has called for more support for winter sports development in China.

Ding, also chairman and CEO of Anta Group, made the remarks in his proposal to the ongoing national legislature meeting in Beijing.

According to a national survey last year, China has 270 million people taking part in winter sports, accounting for 20 percent of its total population.Experts forecast that the figure will see accelerated growth which is driven by sports consumption upgrading and the approaching Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The government targeted the scale of winter sports industry nationwide at one trillion yuan in 2025.

However, winter sports' further growth in China is still restrained by such factors as low popularity, geographical restrictions and lack of homegrown brands, according to Ding.

Ding offered his suggestions in a bid to tackle these problems, which include hosting world-level games, building winter sports venues, setting up government funds to boost the popularity and stepping up brand building.