Excitement has been building in Italy as people gathered on the streets to catch a glimpse of the iconic Olympic flame as it continued its journey to Milan ahead of Friday night's much-anticipated opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics will take place from February 6 to 23, with events held in the famous cultural city of Milan and the Alpine mountain town of Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Games will feature about 2,900 athletes from around the world, with a total of 116 gold medals up for grabs.
The torch arrived in Monza, a city in northern Italy most famous for its Formula One racing circuit, on Wednesday afternoon, with this being the final stop of the relay before the Olympic flame reaches Milan. Despite rainy and chilly weather, enthusiastic crowds gathered along the streets of Monza, waiting patiently to see the flame make its way along the route and take photos with the torchbearers.
Among those given the great honor of carrying the torch was Li Yaoyang, a reporter with the China Media Group (CMG) stationed in Italy, who was invited to participate in the Monza leg.
"The atmosphere here is fantastic. Even though it's raining and quite cold, people's enthusiasm has not dampened," said Li.
Some residents said they had traveled far to see the famous flame, and they shared their excitement and expectations for the upcoming sports extravaganza.
"I came all the way from Rome to see the Winter Olympics torch relay. It's incredibly exciting. This is a wonderful moment," said Walter Toscanelli, one of the spectators at the torch relay.
"We've been following the torch relay closely and are looking forward to the grand finale of the torch relay on Friday. We're very happy and excited to enjoy the Olympic Games," said Emanuele Cirillo, another resident.
Excitement builds in Italy as crowds gather to catch glimpse of Olympic flame
Excitement builds in Italy as crowds gather to catch glimpse of Olympic flame
Excitement builds in Italy as crowds gather to catch glimpse of Olympic flame
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
