Xi's vision shapes spectacular showpiece

President's commitment to Winter Olympics key to success of Beijing 2022

From bidding for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the extensive preparations, President Xi Jinping has played a leading role, and has vowed to present a "fantastic, extraordinary and excellent" Games to the world.

With a global vision, Xi wants the Beijing Games to contribute to the Olympic Movement with greater public involvement in winter sports, and to enable the Olympic spirit to ease political tensions and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

As the Beijing Winter Olympics will open on Friday, Xi, a keen sports fan, will attend the opening ceremony of the eye-catching event in Beijing and join global winter sports fans in enjoying the world-class competitions.

When he attended the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia eight years ago, he told Rossiya TV, a state-owned Russian television channel, that he loves winter sports. "I like watching ice hockey games, speed skating, figure skating and freestyle skiing. Hockey is my favorite."

The coming weeks will show how Xi's commitment to the country's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics is being turned into a reality.

He appeared on television just hours before members of the International Olympic Committee cast their votes on July 31, 2015, and promised a "fantastic, extraordinary and excellent Olympic Winter Games".

"The 2022 Winter Olympic Games, if held in China, will boost exchanges and mutual understanding between the Chinese and other civilizations of the world, encourage more than 1.3 billion Chinese to engage in winter sports with interest and passion, and give them yet another opportunity to help advance the Olympic Movement and promote the Olympic spirit," Xi assured the IOC members in a video speech.