Xi meets IOC president, pledges to make 2022 Winter Olympics an excellent event

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) and his wife Peng Liyuan (2nd R), together with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (3rd R) and his wife(3rd L), pose for a group photo with other IOC Chinese members in Lausanne, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Wednesday, and pledged to make Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games a "remarkable, extraordinary and excellent event."[Special coverage]

During the meeting with Bach at the International Olympic Museum in the Swiss city of Lausanne, Xi expressed his appreciation to the consistent and important contributions of the IOC, Bach and IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge to the sound development of the international Olympic Movement, and their great help to China's sports cause.

China is a firm supporter and an active participant of the Olympic Games, said Xi. Beijing will be holding the Winter Olympic Games in 2022, making it the world's first city of both holding a Summer Olympic Games and a Winter Olympic Games.

The preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics will be a major task for China in the years to come. China will prepare and host the 2022 Games in a green, sharing, open and clean-fingered manner, Xi pledged.

The Chinese president said that China will take the 2022 Olympics as an opportunity to facilitate the nation's competitive sports and mass sports, so as to improve the health of all Chinese people, one of the goals of an overall well-off society that China has been pursuing.

Hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics will also boost the economic growth of China and other countries sitting along the Belt and Road routes, and enhance regional peace and stability, Xi added.

For his part, Bach welcomed Xi's historic visit to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

The IOC, like the international community, has been paying great attention to China's reform and development. It believes that China will make more achievements in various areas like politics, economy, culture and sports in the future, Bach said.

The international community looks forward to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The IOC stands ready to work with China in the preparations to make it a fascinating event, and help the Chinese people realize their dreams, the IOC president noted.

Bach and his wife also accompanied Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan to take a tour at the International Olympic Museum, and watched various Olympic-related exhibitions.