08 February 2025 – IOC President Thomas Bach was in Harbin in northern China for the Opening Ceremony of the Asian Winter Games on Friday. He was welcomed by the President of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), Gao Zhidan, and accompanied throughout the visit by the three IOC members in China, IOC Executive Board member Li Lingwei, Yu Zaiqing and Hong Zhang.
More than 2,000 athletes from across the region will compete in 11 winter sports at the Games, which were opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping. He and President Bach met for talks before the ceremony.
In their 40-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the close cooperation between China and the Olympic Movement over recent years.
President Bach thanked President Xi for all the cooperation and support of the Chinese government; for the Youth Olympic Games Nanjing 2014; during the “Asian cycle” of Olympic Games; and for the exceptional Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. He also thanked President Xi and the Chinese government for their support in the lead-up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, always supporting the IOC’s political neutrality. The Games in Paris saw athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees compete – sending a message of peace and solidarity to the entire world.
President Bach also congratulated President Xi for the great success of China’s athletes at the Paris Games, where they won a total of 91 Olympic medals, 40 of them gold.
President Xi said the two sides had worked closely together every step of the way, and he told the IOC President that he would always be welcome in China.
During the meeting, the IOC President also announced that the IOC will contribute an additional USD 5.9 million from its share of the surplus of the organisational budget of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, to support the legacy of these Games. The IOC’s further share of the surplus will be given to the COC, and is intended to support the development of sport in China, in particular the continued engagement of 346 million Chinese people in winter sports, with a special focus on young people.
Before the Opening Ceremony of the Asian Games, the President was able to meet athletes taking part in the Games and discuss their Olympic ambitions.
He also toured the facilities at the International Broadcast Centre with China Media Group (CMG) President Shen Haixiong, and discussed CMG’s plans for its coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
