International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said China has made huge contributions to the development of the Olympic movement through event hosting and its dedication to developing the sports industry.
Bach made the statement on Wednesday during an interview with China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing. He was visiting the Chinese capital shortly after attending the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin earlier this month.
Bach praised China's significant role in advancing the Olympic movement, highlighting its contributions through event hosting and innovative approaches to sports development. Speaking about the growing collaboration between China and the IOC, Bach emphasized the positive impact of China's multilateral approach in uniting athletes worldwide.
"China has made huge contributions to the development of the Olympic movement in the past couple of years, and in many ways. At the very beginning of my mandate, China hosted the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. And there, for the first time together, we undertook this very innovative approach of introducing new sports, creating what we were calling at the time a 'sports lab.' From then on, the cooperation got closer and closer. You have been mentioning Beijing 2022 (Winter Games), the Asian Games, but also, all around, the cooperation went very well. We are very grateful to China, with the multilateral approach China always took and supporting the mission of the IOC to unite the athletes from all countries, from the entire world, to come together in a peaceful competition," he said.
Last year, China's Li Lingwei was elected to the IOC executive board, a move that, according to Bach, reflects the respect and appreciation for Chinese sports leaders. He added that Li's election also brings China's vision and valuable experience to the committee.
"We can only benefit from this experience, and we can only benefit from this Chinese spirit of this forward-looking spirit, of this long-term thinking, of this dedication and determination, which we do not see everywhere in the world right now. This is why this influence is greatly appreciated, and you can see this expressed in elections in international sports federations, but also in the IOC, where China is really taking its place -- the place it deserves," Bach said.
China has made huge contributions to Olympic movement: IOC president
China has made huge contributions to Olympic movement: IOC president
China has made huge contributions to Olympic movement: IOC president
