Proudly flying the flag

Proudly donning uniforms emblazoned with the national flag is undoubtedly a career highlight for all Chinese athletes and serves to inspire generations of youngsters watching their heroes on screen.

Now fans can feel an even closer connection to Team China following the launch of Anta's national flag sportswear, an officially licensed clothing range of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in Shanghai on Monday.

Conveying the culture and concept of the Olympics with the national flag and the 2022 Games logo, the clothing has been officially authorized by the Beijing 2022 organizing committee.

"Consumers have a lot of choice for clothing, and their requirements for personalized gear are pretty high," said Zheng Jie, executive director and president of Chinese sportswear giant Anta Group.

"While staging the Winter Olympics is the expectation of all Chinese people, to turn such a high expectation into a clothing commodity to satisfy personalized aesthetics is the main design basis for the licensed products with the national flag.

"We hope that these special outfits with the national flag on them can allow our consumers to express the Chinese temperament, and to show our enthusiasm for the Winter Olympic Games."

Beijing 2022 organizers also believe that the launch of the licensed products will help with their marketing push.

"At each Summer and Winter Olympics, launching licensed products is a key way to help promote the image of the host nation," said Piao Xuedong, the organizing committee's marketing director.

"The Beijing Winter Olympics will increase our market value through high-quality licensed products and through the marketing atmosphere."