Mascots of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. (PHOTO: VCG)

By QI Liming

    As the Beijing 2022 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games edge closer, China has gone all out to ensure the international community are not disappointed.

    Officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and ambassadors to China have commented favorably on China's preparations for Beijing 2022. They believe that China will stage a magnificent Olympic Games for the world and the Chinese people.

    China's contribution to the international Olympic cause

    President of the IOC Thomas Bach spoke highly of the preparations for Beijing 2022, when he spoke to Cai Qi, head of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) via video. Bach said that the work for Beijing 2022 have once again demonstrated China's efficiency and vitality. Safety is a top priority and the IOC will continue to work side by side with BOCOG to guide all stakeholders to abide by pandemic prevention rules and win greater support from the international community. "We believe that Beijing will be the best host and the Beijing Winter Olympics will be held safely and smoothly as scheduled," said Bach.

    Senior IOC member Dick Pound said in an interview with  German media that politics does not come into any decision concerning the award of Olympics events to a country. "In the sense of having a host country that could organize and put on an excellent Games from a Games perspective, there's absolutely nothing wrong with China," Pound said, adding that "It's a very good and very organized country."

    International community looking forward to a spectacular Olympic Games

    Andrey Denisov, Russian Ambassador to China, said in an interview that the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics was the best summer Olympics in recent years, and he believed that the Beijing Winter Olympics will be an unprecedented event in the history of the Olympic Games. He is looking forward to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

    Denisov also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already accepted an invitation and would attend Beijing 2022. This is also Putin's first overseas visit in 2022. "It is well known that President Putin is a sports lover and he is very much looking forward to the Beijing Winter Olympics."

    Reza Salehi Amiri, the president of Iran's National Olympic Committee (NOC), praised the Chinese government and people for holding significant sports events, "We have already confirmed three athletes' places and have requested the IOC to allow us to add a sportswoman to our delegation. In addition, Iranian Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Hamid Sajjadi and I also plan to attend the event in Beijing," said Salehi Amiri.

    He said order, discipline and effective management have always been among the distinctive features of events held in China.

    Luis Schmidt, Chile's Ambassador to China, talked about the upcoming Beijing 2022, saying it will be a grand gathering of all countries in the world and a fair stage for international athletes to compete.

    "China's commitment to Beijing 2022 is world -class," he said. "It's amazing how many major games facilities China has created in the preparation process. I know a lot about winter sports and have skied in the U.S. and Swiss Alps. I can say that the venues in Zhangjiakou are the best in the world."

    Hosting the Games in a green, sharing, open and clean manner

    Florian Hajzeri, China general manager for TechnoAlpin, the Italian company that supplies the snow-makers, said that the equipment's automated systems reduce the kind of human error that can lead to wastage.

    With resorts worldwide turning to artificial snow to operate smoothly through the winter, "no matter which Olympics, there will always be snow-making systems for all of the venues", he said.

    Organizers of Beijing 2022 said the snow-makers are powered by renewable energy and would not damage mountain ecosystems, while the water they use would return to local reservoirs as the snow melts in spring.

    Allison Malmsten, marketing director at China-based market research firm Daxue Consulting, said Beijing 2022 would help to accelerate the growth of snow sports in China, which has spent several years developing its infrastructure.

    "As a country with many snowcapped mountains, China has great potential as a future ski destination. The legacy, which Beijing 2022 will leave, will be in marking a new growth point in the upgrade of the domestic market."