Revisiting the spirit of success in the Beijing Winter Olympics

After seven years of hard work, China successfully hosted the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. By overcoming various difficulties, the world once again presented the historical Games. Facts have proved again that the Chinese people not only have the willingness and determination to make contributions to promoting solidarity and friendship among peoples across the world, but also have the ability and enthusiasm to make even greater contributions.

Integrating the Chinese culture with ice and snow elements, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games demonstrated the beauty of nature, the beauty of humanity and the beauty of sport, and showcased the image of China as a trustworthy, loveable and admirable country in the new era. The Beijing 2022 Winter Games attracted billions of viewers around the world, making it the most watched Winter Games ever.

Patriotism was fully manifested, gathering a momentum for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The Chinese people showed their high-spirited patriotism during the Games. All Chinese both at home and abroad paid passionate attention to and provided strong support.

The preparation and hosting of the Games have promoted the development of social undertakings across the board, better securing the human rights of the disabled and enriching the lives of the general public. The Games have left a fruitful legacy, with the success of the Games promoting regional development.

The preparation and hosting of the Games have strongly boosted both regional and national development. Now the traffic across the regions hosting the Olympics is more convenient and faster, the environment has been improved significantly, industries are linked more closely and public services are delivered in a more equitable way.

China’s COVID response strategy once again withstood the test, contributing useful experience for the world to fight against the virus and host major international events. As some foreign athletes said, if there were a gold medal for responding to the pandemic, then China would deserve it. Moving forward with solidarity and cooperation, China has contributed its share to the humankind’s efforts in overcoming challenges.

The success of the Games prompted exchanges between cultures, and played a key role in promoting solidarity, cooperation and joint efforts to overcome difficulties globally. It also brought confidence and hope to a world overshadowed by instability, and sent the world a message of our times — Together for a Shared Future.

The glory of the Beijing Games was built on seven years of arduous endeavor. The builders built marvelous, world-class venues and facilities with craftsmanship.  The organisers organized the events meticulously and professionally to create favourable conditions for athletic competition.

The support staff provided warm and attentive services, working long hours to ensure that all contestants felt at home. The medical and epidemic control staff created unbreakable walls of protection to safeguard everyone’s health.

The security team guarded every corner of cities carefully to guarantee the smooth running of both the Games and cities with the highest standards. Those from the fields of art and literature, science and technology, design, the media, foreign affairs, meteorology, as well as all other fronts stood fast at their posts in full solidarity and cooperation.

The volunteers offered warm services with their youthful vigour and dedication, showing the vibrant and energetic image of the Chinese youth to the world. The tens of thousands of workers inside the closed loop stayed away from their families and stuck to their posts for months.

In the last seven years Chinese our athletes and coaches bore in mind the expectations of the Party and the people, raced against time and trained hard. At the Winter Games, they competed bravely, performed beyond their limits and completed their tasks successfully.

China’s socialism with extraordinary capabilities of organisation, coordination and implementation as well as the country’s solid economic and technological strength and composite national strength gave her tremendous confidence and laid a solid foundation for the success of the Games.

China combined hosting the Games with serving the people and promoting development. The success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics is not only the success of sports. The preparation and hosting of the Games have also stimulated development in various areas and brought about far-reaching positive impact on economic growth and social progress. It has also strengthened national fitness campaigns, helped to lift people out of poverty through development of industries, and improved people’s lives by providing better public services.

Creating a better future together means coordination, interaction and cooperation. Aligning the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic motto “Together for a Shared Future” with the new Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”, the Chinese kept themselves future-oriented with a global vision, and called on all members on Earth to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Abridged from President Xi Jinping speech at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics review and awards ceremony on April 8, 2022