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At 10-day countdown of the Winter Olympics, Beijing has gained wide intl support and made full preparations of venues; city all teed up for event(Global Times) 08:12, January 26, 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, on January 4, 2022. Xi inspected the preparations for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing on January 4, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)
On the 10-day countdown to the much-expected Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that after six years of preparations, China is all set to deliver a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games when he met with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Tuesday.
When the world's attention is now fixed on the Winter Olympics that marks the first major international sporting event to be held on schedule after the pandemic started two years ago, Beijing has also gained wide support from the international community, including Russia, South Korea and even Lithuania. Observers said the successful hosting of the event not only marks a successful feast of sports, but also demonstrates to the world China's commitment and effort to fix the cracks of international community, and bring together the world to build a shared future.
Moreover, they said the support from the international community serves as solid evidence that faced with a gala that promotes solidarity and solves disparities, tricks to politicize the Olympics are petty and futile.
Meeting Bach at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Tuesday, Xi pointed out that after more than six years of preparations and now with everything falling into place, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 will be held on schedule as promised.
China will honor its commitment to present to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games. This is the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that a comprehensive global sporting event is held as scheduled. It is a successful example of acting upon the new Olympic motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together," Xi said.
China will make new and bigger contributions to the Olympic Movement and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. "I look forward to witnessing the important moment of the Games' opening with you, President Bach," said Xi.
Bach began by wishing the Chinese people a happy Spring Festival and best of luck in the Year of the Tiger in Chinese. He commended the joint efforts by Chinese authorities and the Chinese people which ensured excellent and smooth preparations for the Games, saying that he was impressed by the outstanding venues, thorough COVID-19 countermeasures and advanced concept of sustainability. He also applauded China's efficiency, determination and dynamism, the Xinhua reported.
Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the remarks made by Xi and Bach during their meeting demonstrate not only China's full confidence in successfully hosting the event, but also the fact that preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games have been successful, and have been highly recognized and supported by the IOC.
International support
With the Beijing Winter Olympics less than two weeks away, Russia, South Korea, Cambodia, and others have showed support for the event by sending delegations and distinguished representatives to the Olympics. Even Lithuania, whose diplomatic ties with China have severely damaged since last year due to its provocations on the Taiwan questions, sent a pretty big delegation to Beijing.
Speaking at a Tuesday press conference, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said that Russia plans to send a 500-strong delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics, including athletes, coaches, medical workers and service support staff, the biggest foreign delegation coming to the event.
The Russian ambassador said that the Beijing Winter Olympics is a highly expected event and that he fully believes China can host the event with high quality, and overcome all difficulties posed by COVID-19.
When asked about some countries not sending officials and government representatives to the event, the ambassador said that every time a country hosts a large-scale event, there are certain groups of people who want to sabotage the event for narrow political interests.
