Beijing marked China's 18th National Fitness Day on Saturday with a range of sporting activities, including the launch of a series of sports events and a three-day sports carnival, showcasing the capital's enduring sports legacy as the host of both the 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics.
China's 18th National Fitness Day, which falls on Saturday this year, saw numerous sports events taking place simultaneously across the metropolis.
The opening of the 17th Beijing Municipal Games, a sports carnival, and the 17th Beijing Olympic City Sports and Culture Festival are taking center stage one after another, fully unleashing the sporting vitality through a diverse array of sporting events, consumer activities, and cultural experiences.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and the city has launched a sports consumption season.
Nearly 60 sports brands have gathered in Beijing's Olympic center area, bringing more than a dozen top-tier international sports event IPs.
The three-day sports carnival seamlessly integrates match watching, interactive experiences, and shopping.
"The National Fitness Day is taking on a variety of forms. We can experience GT racing, racing culture, trendy sports culture, and even related merchandise in person," said Lin Yue, an Olympic champion.
The 17th Beijing Municipal Games and the Third Beijing Winter Games also opened Saturday at the National Stadium.
Featuring three categories of youth, college and general public, the event has set new records for both the number of participants and the range of sports, catering to sports enthusiasts of all ages and providing ordinary citizens with a professional platform to showcase their athletic abilities.
On the same day, the 17th Beijing Olympic City Sports and Culture Festival kicked off at the Beijing Olympic Museum.
Beijing marks National Fitness Day with sports carnivals, various games
Rob Hillard, CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific, underscored the critical role of the Asia-Pacific region in maintaining resilient global supply chains, noting that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is becoming increasingly important due to its growing innovation capabilities.
Hillard made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Sunday in south China's tech hub Shenzhen, as the city is set to hold the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting from Nov 18 to 19.
Deloitte has long maintained a strong presence across the Asia-Pacific, particularly in the Chinese market, offering integrated audit, tax, and consulting services to both foreign companies entering China and Chinese firms expanding overseas.
Hillard observed that Chinese enterprises are becoming increasingly adept at navigating a dynamic global environment.
"Clearly, innovation, excitement, but resilience, and resilience is a really interesting word. It's a dynamic world and I think Chinese business has become very, very good at navigating complexities," he said.
Reflecting on his visit to the Greater Bay Area, Hillard said the region left a strong impression with its thriving innovation scene.
"The whole Greater Bay Area has so much culture and history and the other thing is that this is an area that has been almost experimental. Experimental from a policy perspective -- urban infrastructure, drones, robots, driverless taxis. There is just so much to explore and to watch," he said.
He further emphasized that the Asia-Pacific region is critical in maintaining resilient global supply chains, given its large share of global trade, and the GBA, he said, is becoming increasingly crucial for its innovative strength.
"Asia Pacific is a trading region. One of the things, I think, that makes that region so important to the rest of the world is supply chains. Again, I always remind people, more than 70 percent of the world's trade starts, ends or is contained within Asia Pacific. And it does all depend upon resilient supply chains -- being able to get those parts, those components that you need and the information that you need. Increasingly, the Greater Bay Area is crucial to that -- in everything from physical goods right through to the tokens that we are relying on through innovative technology development. So, I think the Greater Bay Area has become well known within Asia Pacific as an important part of the resilience of the region," said Hillard.
Deloitte Asia Pacific CEO highlights GBA's growing role in Asia-Pacific innovation, trade resilience
