Chinese athletes chase Milan Olympic spots as home events sharpen competitive edge

With less than two months to go until the start of the Milan Winter Olympics, China is hosting a dense schedule of top-tier qualifying events, giving its athletes a final push to secure berths for 2026 Winter Olympics and offering younger competitors a rare chance to compete at the world-class level.

According to the qualification system established by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) -- the global authority for winter sports, the points window for Milan is running from July 1, 2024 to January 18, 2026, making the 2025 winter season the final and most intense phase of the qualification race.

At the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup event concluded in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Olympic champion Su Yiming delivered an impressive performance to claim gold, following his victory at the season opener in Chongli the previous weekend.

His teammate, Ge Chunyu, secured the second place at the Chongli event.

After the medal ceremony, Su expressed the significance of sharing the podium with his teammate for his country.

"We had never seen two Chinese snowboarders lifting one national flag [on the top of the Big Air World Cup podium] at a same time, but my teammate and I made it. I think this is just the beginning for Chinese snowboarding, and we will definitely do better and better," Su said.

Ge said the Milan stage encourages him forward.

"As an athlete, I think it is such an honor to be able to take part in the Milan Olympics. So I have set my goals, and started to practice harder, working on new tricks," Ge said.

Liu Mengting, a 21-year-old Chinese freeskier, finished the second at the Beijing stop with 172.25 points, after securing bronze at the Big Air World Cup in Chongli.

She said the increasing difficulty of the competition reflects the Olympic spirit.

"Everyone's focus on difficulty and tricks is actually all for the Olympics. We want to compete for the podium and showcase our skills on that grand stage, proving that Chinese athletes can perform perfectly at the highest level," Liu said.

For some newcomers to the scene, the Olympic stage represents a significant opportunity.

"I feel nervous and excited [about the upcoming Winter Olympics], with all kinds of emotions. Every night before I fall asleep, I will imagine how to train and how to improve myself," said 18-year-old freeskier Lin Hao.

Chinese athletes chase Milan Olympic spots as home events sharpen competitive edge

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it had raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2025 to five percent, an upward revision of 0.2 percentage points from its October outlook.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made the remarks at a press conference held in Beijing, noting that the economy has demonstrated notable resilience despite facing multiple shocks.

"Despite sizable shocks, China's economy has shown remarkable resilience. We have upgraded our projections for China's growth to five percent in 2025. They reflect both strong exports and welcome fiscal stimulus. This resilient growth has supported household incomes. China is contributing about 30 percent to global growth," she said.

According to the press conference, an IMF team conducted constructive exchanges from December 1 to 10 in Beijing and Shanghai with senior Chinese government officials, representatives of private enterprises, and academics regarding China's economic outlook and policy responses, leading to the preliminary conclusion of raising China's growth forecast.

The IMF particularly recognized a combination of macro policies of the Chinese government aimed at expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption. It recommended further leveraging fiscal policy in the future to shift the growth model toward consumption‑driven expansion.

The IMF predicted that China will remain a crucial engine of global economic growth for many years to come.

According to Georgieva, measures such as shifting economic growth toward consumption‑driven expansion, further tapping the potential of the services sector, and promoting structural reforms with more proactive and stronger macro‑policies could add an estimated 2.5 percentage points to China's economic growth over the next five years through 2030. Such efforts would also contribute to healthier and more balanced development of the world economy.

IMF highlights China's economic resilience, raises 2025 growth forecast