Xi meets IOC president, honorary president

GUANGZHOU - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry and IOC Honorary President for Life Thomas Bach in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province.

Coventry and Bach were in China for the opening ceremony of the country's 15th National Games.

Xi noted that the Olympic spirit is an important part of human civilization, carries people's aspirations for a better world, and is highly consistent with China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"China has always been firmly practicing, safeguarding, and promoting the Olympic spirit," Xi said, adding that in recent years, China and the IOC have supported each other in advancing sport development and got many big and great things done.

"Earlier this year, we gathered in Harbin for the Asian Winter Games when the city was covered in ice and snow. Today, we meet again in the warm, spring-like city of Guangzhou for the National Games. This speaks to the strong and close partnership between China and the IOC," Xi said.

China stands ready to deepen high-standard cooperation with the IOC and advance the Olympic Movement while developing itself into a sporting powerhouse, contribute greater wisdom and strength to global sport governance, and make further contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity, the Chinese president said.

Xi emphasized that the National Games is China's largest-scale and highest-level multi-sport event, and the Games this time is co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Noting that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of China's most open and economically dynamic regions, Xi said the goal of promoting the development of the area is to make it into a strategic underpinning for China's new development paradigm, a demonstration area for high-quality development, and a pacesetter of Chinese modernization.

He expressed confidence that this year's National Games will showcase not only China's new sporting achievements in the new era, but also the remarkable progress of Chinese modernization in the Greater Bay Area.

Coventry and Bach expressed their delight at being in Guangzhou to witness the tremendous dynamism and accomplishments of Chinese modernization in the Greater Bay Area.

Speaking highly of China's active commitment to the Olympic spirit and its significant contribution to the Olympic Movement, they said the IOC is grateful for China's long-standing and strong support, and looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with China to drive the Olympic Movement and bring the Olympic spirit to a wider global audience in order to enhance solidarity among peoples and promote world peace.

They expressed confidence that the National Games will be a splendid and successful event catalyzing new advances in China's sport development.

Wang Yi, Huang Kunming and Shen Yiqin attended the meeting.