Xi: Promote global peace, development with the power of youth

President Xi Jinping highlighted on Friday China's readiness to make the Chengdu FISU World University Games a grand sports event that will present the charms of China, the spirit of the times and the beauty of youth, and facilitate mutual understanding among young people of different countries.

While addressing a welcoming banquet for guests attending the opening ceremony of the games in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Xi called for efforts to "bring together young people from around the world to promote world peace and development with the power of youth".

The banquet was attended by Xi's wife Peng Liyuan, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Joko Widodo, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and FISU Acting President Leonz Eder.

The multisport event organized by the International University Sports Federation has attracted the participation of 6,500 university athletes from 113 countries and regions.

Addressing the banquet, the president said that China has committed itself to organizing a streamlined, safe and splendid event. "In spite of COVID-19 and other adverse factors, we have acted vigorously to fulfill our solemn pledge for a successful World University Games and to make new contributions to the cause of international youth sports."

He noted that the World University Games has always been "a celebration of youth, solidarity and friendship" since its inception in 1959.

He highlighted the younger generation as a starting point for building up people-to-people exchanges between countries, which he said is the very foundation for international relations.

"The younger generation motivated by ideals and responsibilities are the future of mankind as well as the hope of the lofty pursuit of peace and development," he said.

Xi made an appeal for the global community to carry forward the spirit of the World University Games to stand up to global challenges in solidarity.

"We should promote solidarity through sports, build up positive energy across the international community, join hands to tackle global challenges such as climate change, food crisis and terrorism, and shape a better future through cooperation."

He also called for efforts to deepen exchanges and mutual learning to promote harmony without uniformity in the spirit of inclusiveness.

Young people, Xi noted, can and should be able to embrace diversity with an equal, inclusive and friendly perspective, and see different cultures with an attitude of mutual appreciation and mutual learning.

"The Chengdu Games should be an opportunity for us to champion the common values of humanity and write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

The Chinese president also gave the foreign guests a brief introduction to Chengdu, the metropolis in southwestern China with a history of over 2,300 years.

Chengdu, a dynamic city with the highest index of happiness among its residents, has continued to prosper economically and thrive culturally by embracing diversity, he said.

He invited the foreign guests to explore the charm of the city on its streets and "to experience and share firsthand the multifaceted manifestations of the Chinese path to modernization".

The foreign guests were treated to a feast of local cultural elements before the banquet, including a folk song choir of 50 children dressed in costumes of ethnic groups and a show of intangible cultural heritage from Sichuan province.