China ready to deepen cooperation with IOC in more areas: Chinese vice president

China stands ready to deepen cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in more areas to jointly promote the development of the Olympic Movement, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said when meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach in Beijing on Tuesday.

China highly appreciates the significant contributions made by Bach during his tenure to promote cooperation between the IOC and China, said Han.

The just-concluded 9th Asian Winter Games in the Chinese city of Harbin presented to the world a great sports event that is distinctly Chinese, uniquely Asian and spectacular, Han said.

China always values the development of its sports sector and takes an active part in international Olympic affairs, said Han, adding that China stands ready to deepen cooperation with the IOC in more areas to jointly promote the development of the Olympic Movement and make new contributions to world peace, unity and progress.

Bach congratulated China on the successful conclusion of the Asian Winter Games and thanked the Chinese side for its long-term support of the IOC. He expressed the IOC's willingness to strengthen cooperation with China to jointly uphold multilateralism and achieve greater accomplishments in the Olympic cause.

China ready to deepen cooperation with IOC in more areas: Chinese vice president

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed self-reliance in science and technology, hailing it as the "key" in building China into a great modern socialist country, during an inspection tour of an information technology innovation park in Beijing on Monday.

When visiting the national information technology innovation park in Beijing E-Town, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, viewed displays showcasing sci-tech achievements in fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and spoke with researchers and heads of technology enterprises. Xi said he was "even more confident" in the country's sci-tech innovation after seeing what was presented during the visit.

He stressed that sci-tech self-reliance and strength is the "key" in China's efforts to build a great modern socialist country and urged the Chinese capital to leverage its unique strengths to make greater contributions in this regard.

He also extended his Spring Festival wishes to the crowd at the park.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese. This year it falls on Feb 17.

Xi stresses sci-tech self-reliance in building great modern socialist country