Beijing Winter Olympics shows determination, efficiency and dynamism of China, says IOC chief

Hosting the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games as scheduled amid the COVID-19 pandemic shows the "determination, efficiency and dynamism" of China, said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"The preparations are excellent," Bach said on Monday. "We see high praises from the athletes for the villages and for the venues, not only from a sporting point of view but also architectural."

As Bach noted, the venues "give an example of sustainability" in a way of reusing and repurposing six venues from the 2008 Olympic Games for Beijing 2022.

"2008 was the appearance of China on the world stage," the IOC chief noted. "But now China has become an established partner on this world stage in every aspect, culture, business, politics, and also in sport. It's a different country."

It was Bach who announced China as the host country for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2015. Now that over six years have passed, the staging of Beijing 2022 has been realized to a high-standard despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We can see the closed loop is working. The Chinese people are safe, and the participants of the Games are safe."

Bach believes that hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics as scheduled, especially with the Omicron variant coming up in many parts of the world, shows the "determination, efficiency and dynamism" of China.

"We can see the determination China is addressing the pandemic and how successful this approach is for the people."

"We are so happy that the motto of Beijing 2022, 'Together for a Shared Future' is echoed with the new Olympic motto which now reads 'Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together'," Bach added. "This message of together is a message of solidarity."

"Not one country alone can solve it, and not one community alone can really address it," Bach said when talking about the pandemic. "Only if we are all working together, we can manage these greater challenges."