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BEIJING, Feb. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The Beijing Winter Olympics will raise the curtain on Friday, with thousands of

athletes from across the globe joining the mega sports event in the Chinese

capital city.

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NjX8qm6YEo

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Games at

the National Stadium in Beijing with world leaders from dozens of countries,

including Russian President Vladimir Putin and heads of

international organizations, such as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio

Guterres.

"The world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready," Xi said while

addressing the opening ceremony of the 139th session of the International

Olympic Committee (IOC) via video link on Thursday.

The Chinese president told IOC President Thomas Bach and other IOC members that

China will do its best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid

Games and act on the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together."

Xi also thanked the committee for its long-term contribution to China's sports

as a whole and its support and guidance in bidding and preparing for the Games.

From 'One World, One Dream' to 'Together for a Shared Future'

"From 'One World, One Dream' in 2008 to 'Together for a Shared Future' in

2022," Xi said China has been actively participating in the Olympic Games and

consistently promoting the Olympic Spirit.

Beijing is the first city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and

Winter Olympic Games.

Fourteen years ago, with the motto of "One World, One Dream," Beijing 2008

Olympic Games showed the world how an open China embraced the world and how a

diverse world greeted China.

Xi said in the address that the world is experiencing great changes that have

not been seen in a century: the COVID-19 pandemic, a new period of turbulence

and transformation and multiple challenges to humanity.

For the first time in over 100 years, the Olympic motto was updated last year,

adding one of the most resonant words since the pandemic – "together."

Bach, in his New Year's message published on the IOC website, said Beijing 2022

will be a chance to "live our new Olympic motto" to become stronger by standing

together in solidarity.

By using "Together for a Shared Future" as a slogan, China is conveying a

message of solidarity, urging humanity to stay united in the face of global

challenges, including the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Mobilizing 300 million people

China is committed to pursuing the Olympic ideal with concrete actions, Xi said

in his address at the IOC session.

The Chinese president's primary goal of holding the Games to inspire 300

million people to participate in winter sports has already been fulfilled.

Xi said by preparing for and organizing the Winter Games, China has boosted its

regional development, ecological establishment and quality of life, in addition

to opening up a broader space for the development of winter sports around the

globe.

Over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities

since Beijing's successful Winter Olympics bid in 2015, with a participation

rate of 24.56 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.

By early 2021, the country boasted 654 standard ice rinks, a surge of 317

percent from 2015, and the number of ski resorts has risen from 568 in 2015 to

803 now.

A research report on China's ice and snow industry in 2021 showed that the

scale of the Chinese industry increased from $42 billion in 2015 to $93 billion

in 2020.

According to China's development plan for ice and snow sports from 2016 to

2025, the total scale of the industry will reach 1 trillion yuan ($157.2

billion) by 2025.

China's efforts would "open a new era for winter sports globally," Bach said.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-02-03/Xi-addresses-139th-IOC-session-opening-ceremony-via-video-17lmXTxdZza/index.html

SOURCE  CGTN