Li Changzhu, Zhang Dachun Prospects for organising sino-russian cooperation in the development of the ‘ice and snow’ economy ice and snow economy

Abstract

The aim of the research is to analyse the prospects of the organisation of Chinese-Russian cooperation in the sphere of winter tourism development (economy of ‘ice and snow’). The development of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of coronavirus restrictions by the People’s Republic of China interrupted tourist flows from China to Russia in 2020/2022 and sharply reduced the number of Russian tourists in China. Meanwhile, winter tourism acts as a driver of development of national tourism industries of both countries, therefore, the restoration of intercultural exchange between China and Russia, destroyed by the COVID-19 pandemic and compensation of large-scale economic losses due to the reduction of tourist flows, seems to be an extremely important task. The object of the study is the winter tourism industry of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. The subject of the study is the analysis of the state of development of the winter tourism industry of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China and the search for promising ways out of the crisis on the basis of the development of Chinese-Russian cooperation. The methodological basis of the study is the method of system analysis, the method of structural analysis and the method of general scientific knowledge, the graphical method and the method of grouping. The theoretical basis of the study is the scientific works of Chinese and Russian scientists and statistical data of the Chinese Academy of Tourism and Rosstat. The results of the study include the identification of restrictions that hinder the development of Chinese tourism in Russia, associated with the sanctions imposed on the Russian economy by the EU countries, the United States and their allies following the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the identification of the need to restructure the reception model of the Russian tourism industry and its adaptation in accommodating tourists from China in the current conditions. It is concluded that integration processes within the framework of the organisation of Chinese-Russian cooperation in the development of the economy of ‘ice and snow’ stimulate the development of interdependence of the national economies of the two countries on the movement of tourist flows and promote an active increase in the cross-border movement of financial investments, technologies, labour resources, production facilities and services. In the scientific article in comparison with others, related in subject and purpose, a large-scale analysis of structural changes in the winter tourism industry of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China according to the results of 2020/2024 years is carried out and the direction of Chinese-Russian cooperation in the development of the economy of ‘ice and snow’ is determined.