Thousands of volunteers on hand to help out at Chengdu World Games

A helpful team of nearly 10,000 volunteers now stand ready to provide essential assistance to participants at the upcoming World Games in Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, which will officially open on Thursday.

The 12th World Games -- which run through August 17 -- will feature over 250 events across 60 disciplines in 34 different sports.

Around 5,000 athletes from an estimated 110 countries and regions are expected to take part, including approximately 330 Chinese athletes -- the country's largest-ever delegation to the World Games.

Volunteers for the event will be on hand at various key areas including the Athletes' Village, the Main Media Center, as well as at major transportation hubs and in all competition venues.

In addition, support will be provided at more than 500 service stations set up across the city where a diverse range of promotional activities will also take place during the 11-day Games' period.

At Chengdu's Tianfu International Airport, athletes from all around the globe who are arriving ahead of the Games are being immediately greeted by volunteers, getting their first taste of the city's charm and hospitality.

"When we checked in at the airport and they put something like a tag on the baggage, and here like this (sticker on our chest) to identify that we are participants. And for us, it's the first time it happened. So, it was very lovely and we felt special that we will join this beautiful event," said Konstantin Gorodilov, a member of the Estonian dancesport team.

"Everybody [is] very kind. And it's a very beautiful and big airport. I hope to see [at least] half of Chengdu, because I just saw videos about the city and it was amazing. So I'm very interested in this," said Ajsa Nardelotti, a Hungarian Muay Thai athlete.

First held back in 1981 and staged every four years, the World Games is the highest-level international multi-sport event outside the Olympic Games, and features sports and disciplines that are not on the Olympic program.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.