Addressing the 139th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session, the president stated that organizing the event helped China to engage 300 million people in winter sports, promote regional progress, ecological conservation and green solutions to everyday problems.
Xi said that from the “One World-One Dream” slogan at the 2008 Games to “Together for a Shared Future” at the 2022 Games, China has taken an active part in the Olympic movement and consistently championed the Olympic spirit. Finally, he highlighted the IOC’s work to promote friendship and cooperation through sports even in today’s turbulent times.
The Chinese president gave his speech via video message to welcome the 139th IOC session, at which IOC President Thomas Bach, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee and other leaders linked to the event will present their work reports.
Although the mixed curling competitions started on Wednesday, the 2022 Winter Games will be officially open on Friday and Beijing will become the first city globally to host both a summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games, after it staged the Summer Olympic Games in 2008.
The Winter Olympic Games will run from February 4 to 20, while the Paralympic Games will take place from March 4 to 13.
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