BEIJING — President Xi Jinping has called for advancing preparation work for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games against difficulties and "with greater perfection."

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on Jan 20 when presiding over a meeting on the Beijing 2022 preparations, following his inspection tours of Beijing and Hebei.

Xi inspected the Games' preparation work in Haidian and Yanqing districts, both of Beijing, on Jan 18, and the co-host city of Zhangjiakou on Jan 19.

He extended his thanks to athletes, coaches and construction, managerial and working staff, and expressed his best wishes for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year.

PREPARATION WITH PERFECTION

Xi called on conducting the preparation work "with greater perfection," replanning and readjusting all work in accordance with new circumstances while focusing on both epidemic prevention and control and the organization of the Games.

Xi said "simplicity, safety and excellence" should be prioritized in the Games' preparations. He also called on guarding against and comprehensively neutralizing all kinds of risks and diligently carrying out the preparation work, including competition organization and services, technological application, and cultural activities.

As the Beijing 2022 preparations have entered a crucial stage, Xi urged efforts to center around staging the Games as scheduled and comprehensively sort out and implement all preparation work.

He required the preparation work to be carried out with respect to six key points:

— Completing the construction of non-competition venues and complementary facilities on schedule, and increasing necessary facilities for virus-testing, quarantine, and emergencies.

— Ensuring quality operation during the Games with an efficient management system in place, and improving coordination and emergency-handling capabilities between regions and sectors.

— Advancing competition services by adhering to the principle of a "unified standard for three competition zones," namely, urban Beijing, Yanqing district, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

— Enhancing communication and cooperation with the International Olympic Committee and other international sports organizations and strictly implementing epidemic prevention and control measures.

— Developing winter sports and encouraging participation of more youngsters.

— Promoting coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, striving for more achievements in transportation, environment, industry, and public services, and proactively planning the post-Games utilization of the venues.

"Not only will we host a successful Winter Olympic extravaganza, but also a spectacular Games with unique characteristics," Xi said.

SOLEMN COMMITMENT

Delivering an excellent 2022 Games is a major task of the Party and the country, and it is a solemn commitment to the international community, Xi noted.

He also stressed delivering a "fantastic, extraordinary and excellent" Olympics in 2022 with a "green, inclusive, open and clean" approach.

Xi emphasized that Beijing 2022 is an event of great significance at the outset of the 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025, calling for the enhancing of a sense of responsibility, mission, and urgency during the preparation work.

Xi noted satisfying results had been produced over the past five years, thanks to organizers' efficient work, the cooperation of all relevant parties, and close coordination with international sports organizations.

Xi called on the Games' organizing committee to adhere to the regulations and institutions, adopt stringent budget management, control the Games' costs, avoid corruption and make the Games as "pure and clean as ice and snow."

While visiting the Capital Gymnasium on Jan 18, Xi said that the CPC Central Committee places great importance on the preparatory work for Beijing 2022, adding that both the Party and the Chinese people have given tremendous support in both material and spiritual terms.

INDEPENDENT INNOVATION

After arriving at Taizicheng station on Jan 19, Xi visited the athletes' service hall and observed exhibits, including a rail network map of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the sketch map, and sand table of the Olympic competition zone, and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed rail link.

Thanks to the rail link, it took Xi less than 50 minutes to cover the 200 kilometers between the two cities, a trip he flew four years ago when he last inspected the Olympic co-host.

Xi hailed the high-speed rail, which marks essential progress in the preparations for the Winter Olympics, as a successful demonstration of China's independent innovation.

He pointed out that China has undergone a process from the introduction, digestion, absorption, and re-innovation to independent innovation, before becoming a world leader in high-speed rail technology.

STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE

In his speech on Jan 20, Xi said that both competitive and technical strengths are needed to raise the standard of modern sports. Athletes should have the will and determination to fight for national glory and get the best possible results.

Xi, a keen fan of winter sports himself, said that he is looking forward to China's first-ever Olympic Alpine skiing medal in 2022.

Since Yang Yang ended China's Winter Olympic gold drought in 2002, the world's most populous nation has triumphed in speed skating, short track speed skating, figure skating, and freestyle skiing, but hasn't won a medal in the blue-riband event of Alpine skiing.

"Train as hard as possible and work harder on technological innovations, learn from advanced concepts and technology from around the world, and raise the level of training and competition," Xi said.