China, one of the three Winter Olympics venues in Beijing this week, is facing financial difficulties as it begins to repay loans to prepare for the Games.
Among the problems facing Chinese governments, Chongli province has also been affected by the Beijing crisis over economic debt and business losses due to epidemic prevention measures aimed at eliminating Covid-19.
“The Olympic Games have hurt us a lot,” said Daniel Li, who sells a ski equipment store near Genting Snow Park, one of the venues for the Winter Olympics. Li, who left Chongli district this month in search of work, is struggling to pay an annual rent of Rmb200,000 ($ 31,443) to sell his ski equipment. Chinese zero-Covid methods has led to the closure of the holiday resort from January to March.
“The season of the water slide we relied on has quickly ended due to government policy and we have not received any compensation for our sacrifice.”
As with most Olympic cities and regions, Chongli and its Zhangjiakou administrative center began a construction project that filled the old agricultural area – known for its Great Wall districts – with five-star hotels, restaurants and conference venues.
When Beijing launched its Winter Olympics against Chongli in 2013, the region’s annual revenue is three times that of Rmb3.6bn in 2019, led by sports-related operating expenses. In contrast, inflation rose by less than two-thirds to Rmb572m at the same time.
Li Jiang, chief executive of the Chongli Finance Bureau, said in a statement in November that the region was facing a major financial crisis for Olympic-related activities. Authorities had not yet reimbursed Chongli for any of his previous payments. “These problems require. . . the latest response, ”Li said.
Liang Baoku, chief executive of the Chongli Development and Reform Bureau, the state finance agency, said in October he launched a major tourist attraction Rmb37bn since Beijing won in 2015 to participate in the Winter Olympics. This compared to Rmb2.5bn in the last 15 years.
Zhangjiakou has said it is one of the fastest growing governments in the world to repay loans, jumping from 30 percent in 2018 to 48 percent by 2020, according to the public record.
“It is a law that the Olympics destroy the economy of the world to come,” said Dan Wang, an economist at Hang Seng Bank (China). “This may be especially true in China where political ideology is at the forefront of the economy.”
Chongli housing prices soared after Beijing won its Olympic competition but broke a number of points, starting with restrictions on buying houses with outsiders in the region, soon disrupted the market. The final blow was Beijing’s attempt to strengthen authority on leasing property, which has led to the collapse of house and house.
Prices for affordable housing in Chongli have fallen sharply over the past four years, according to Anjuke, a real estate website.
This has affected the government’s revenue from land sales, which exceeded the government’s target by 22% by 2020.
The economic downturn and epidemics have severely hampered operations in the region. Several ski resorts managers said the cost dropped by half in 2020, before returning to the epidemic before last year and again in 2022.
“There is no end to it,” said a senior official at a gym in Chongli.
Additional reports of Emma Zhou in Beijing
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