By Staff Writer
China’s President Xi Jinping underlined the Winter Olympics theme ‘ Together For A Shared Future’ by sounding out the challenge for the host country at the official opening of the Games last Friday local time.
“”The world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready,” Xi told the opening session of the 139th International Olympics Committee (IOC) in Beijing.
“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,'” the Chinese president said.
Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries are in competition at the Winter Olympics that will continue until 20 Feb. 2022.
Beijing is the only world city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The Chinese capital hosted the summer games in 2008.
President Xi commended the International Olympic Committee in “ …forging ahead with courage and fortitude, playing an important and unique role in galvanizing global solidarity and cooperation to tide over in this difficult time,”
“The world today, under the combined impact of changes unseen in a hundred years and a once-in-a-century pandemic, is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation and facing multiple challenges to humanity.”
The Chinese leader went on to thank the IOC as organisers of the Winter Olympics “…for its strong support and guidance for China’s bid and preparation for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.”
The Games has been described by the international media as an ‘Olympics like no other’ in how it defied the raging pandemic to officially opened as scheduled.
Beijing as the host city has been sealed off by a labyrinth of high fences, thermal gates and facial-recognition cameras, to make it an. “Olympics like no other.”
International media reports compared the changes in China since the hosting of the Summer Olympic Games in 2008 and the Winter Olympics underway.
“China is far richer and more powerful than it was at the time of the 2008 Games. “Its advance was accelerated by the global financial crisis, which began before the Beijing Olympics and worsened afterward.”
The media report highlighted how a massive stimulus package powered China into weathering the economic turbulence better than many developed economies.
Its gross domestic product grew from almost $5 trillion in 2008 to $18 trillion in 2021.
The 2022 Winter Olympics is officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games
President Xi is confident that with the eyes of the world on China the country 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”.