President hosts banquet for Games' global guests

Xi's call for solidarity elevates Olympic spirit to new height, senior diplomat says

President Xi Jinping elevated the Olympic spirit to a new height and pointed the way for humanity to respond to various risks and challenges as he welcomed global dignitaries at a banquet on Saturday, according to a senior Chinese diplomat.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, hosted 25 dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at a banquet at the Great Hall of the People, where the State guests were offered a carefully choreographed showpiece of traditional Chinese culture and Winter Olympics.

While toasting the banquet's participants, the president made a three-point proposal to amplify the Olympic spirit, calling for greater solidarity in the international community to respond to various global challenges.

Ma Zhaoxu, vice-minister of foreign affairs, said in an interview after the banquet that the speech made by Xi was significant in that it raised the Olympic spirit to a new level.

During the banquet, Xi urged efforts to promote the spirit of the Olympic Movement and meet the common challenges facing the international community, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and terrorism, through solidarity.

"The only way for all countries to address the various challenges effectively is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and work together for a shared future," Xi said.

He made an appeal for the global community to keep in mind the original aspiration of the Olympic Movement and jointly uphold world peace, saying that the movement was born for the sake of peace and has thrived thanks to peace.

It is important to act on the purpose of the Olympic Movement, continuously pursue human progress and stay true to humanity's common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, Xi said.

The president's message was echoed by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, both of whom also spoke at the banquet.

The global community should use the Beijing Winter Olympics as an opportunity to go beyond their differences and work together for a better shared future, they said.

The banquet, held as Chinese were still celebrating Spring Festival, marked a grand reunion of the Olympic family and the international community, said Ma, the vice-minister of foreign affairs.

It also embodied Xi's strong emphasis on ties of friendship as the leader of a major country and China's strong emphasis on diplomatic courtesy, Ma said.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are the first comprehensive global sporting event to be held as scheduled since the onset of the pandemic, and the Games have brought hope and confidence to the world amid COVID-19, he said.

"I believe the Beijing Winter Olympics will go down in history as a milestone for the development of the Olympic Movement and humanity overcoming crisis through solidarity," he added.

The Golden Hall, where the banquet was held, was dotted with elements of Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, and the Winter Olympics, including red lanterns and a thematic flower bed of the Beijing Games.

The foreign dignitaries were welcomed with a corridor showcasing China's intangible cultural heritage, including folk customs, music and handicraft, before joining Xi and his wife for a group photo.

Thirty-one foreign heads of state, government and international organizations and members of royal families attended the opening ceremony of the Games on Friday night, making them part of about 170 official representatives from about 70 countries and international organizations taking part in the event.

Ma said the attendance by foreign dignitaries in spite of the pandemic fully demonstrated the support of the international community for China, the Beijing Games and the global Olympic cause.

It also fully displayed the charm and charisma of Xi as a leader, he said.

He noted that China's winning of support from various countries in hosting the Winter Olympics showed that different nations harbored sincere and strong aspirations to further friendship and cooperation with China, adding that China's friends are all over the world.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are of special significance to China's sports and the development of international Olympic Movement, Ma said, adding that Xi set out a vision of engaging 300 million Chinese people in winter sports－a goal that China has already reached.

In a meeting in late January, Bach, the IOC president, called China "a new winter sport country", saying that "the 300 million people who have now been made familiar with winter sport will in the end be the great legacy of these Olympic Winter Games".