Chinese athletes show natural charm of new generation, integration to public life: experts

As the Paris Olympics concludes, the world has been captivated by the young athletes of Team China for their personalities and passion, this was interpreted by experts as a showing of natural charm of the new generation and an integration of them into the public life.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday, Justin Downes, president of Axis Leisure Management noted how the athletes' smiles and interactions resonate with audiences globally.

"This is natural in this younger generation. People just love seeing them smile, looking at them interact with other athletes from other countries, you know, they're all, it's all part of this great community where they just love doing what they do and they love celebrating each other's success. And people feel for that and they really embrace that. It's great for our social fabric around the world to see these athletes, yes, beating tooth and nail with each other to try to win medals. But at the end of the day, they're all colleagues and they're all doing this for the love of sport," said Downes.

Paul Dong, co-founder and sports industry observer of Ei Asia Limited, emphasized this evolution reflects a shift in Chinese sports, where athletes are now integral to public life.

"They have stronger personalities. And I think maybe even their teams and team management encourages them to interact well with their followers and their fans, and so we are seeing very diverse personalities among them, and some are very cooperative, some are very mild and supportive for the media. But some are kind of blunt and the public is now is indeed stakeholders in Chinese sports. Not like in the past, you know, 1980s and 90s, they watched sports and they got inspired, do well or better in their own businesses. But now it's different, it's sports, national sports, international representatives and also professional sports on the ground. They are part of the public life," said Dong.

Chinese athletes show natural charm of new generation, integration to public life: experts

Chinese athletes show natural charm of new generation, integration to public life: experts

Italy does not want an escalation of trade frictions between the European Union and China, which will harm the interests of all parties involved, Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, said on Monday during a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in Rome. The two ministers exchanged views on the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), and explored cooperation opportunities between Chinese and Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Wang said China-Italy cooperation in the auto industry enjoys a solid foundation and has huge potential. China is willing to promote mutual investment in the sector to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. However, he raised concerns that the EU's investigation into China's EVs has seriously affected the confidence of Chinese car companies to invest in Italy, which is not in Italy's long-term interest.

Urso emphasized Italy's unique advantages in research and development, design, and vehicle manufacturing, and welcomed investment from Chinese auto companies. He said that Italy does not want to see the escalation of trade frictions between the EU and China, which will harm the interests of all parties. He hopes that both sides will properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation.

Wang is currently visiting Europe to discuss the EU's trade policy regarding tariffs on Chinese EVs. He will meet with European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday.

Italian Minister warns China-EU trade frictions harm all parties