Your Excellency Mr. Matesa, former Prime Minister and President of the Olympic Committee of Croatia，

Distinguished Mr. Boras, Rector of the University of Zagreb,

Distinguished Mr. Samia, Director General for Sport at Ministry of Tourism and Sport,

Distinguished Professor Knijaz,

Faculty of Kinesiology ,University of Zagreb：

Good morning!

It gives me great pleasure to attend the video conference on China-Croatia Sports Cooperation and get to know all of you. With Christmas and the New Year just around the corner, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I would like to thank the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Olympic Committee, the University of Zagreb and the Faculty of Kinesiology for their long-term efforts and contributions to promoting the development of China-Croatia relations, especially sports exchanges and cooperation between the two sides. Although we are still unable to have face-to-face exchanges due to the pandemic, the two sides have never stopped working to promote China-Croatia relations and sports exchanges and cooperation.

Today marks the first month of my term of office in Croatia. Although I have not been here for a long time, I have already felt deeply the warmth and friendship of the Croatian people, the openness and inclusiveness of the Croatian society and the support of all sectors for the comprehensive cooperative partnership between our two countries. I feel deeply responsible and will do my best to push for greater development of China-Croatia relations.

    Ladies and gentlemen,

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 29 years ago, China and Croatia, under the care and guidance of leaders of the two countries, have witnessed fruitful cooperation in various fields. Although Croatia is a small country in size, it is a big country in sports. Croatian people generally love and participate in various sports activities. Chinese fans are envious of the Croatia national football team's second place in the FIFA World Cup. Sports cooperation between China and Croatia has yielded fruitful results. At the China-CEEC Summit hosted by President Xi Jinping in February, participants supported Croatia and Slovenia in jointly setting up a China-CEEC sports coordination mechanism, with Croatia in charge of summer sports and Slovenia in charge of winter sports. We are ready to work with Croatia to push for the early implementation and achievements of the relevant mechanism.

During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Croatia in 2019 and his attendance at the 8th China-CEEC Summit, sports authorities of the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support all-round sports cooperation between institutions, universities and enterprises of the two countries. Sports cooperation has deepened the understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Croatian people. There are Croatian players and coaches playing for Chinese football clubs. Beijing Sport University (BSU) has conducted close cooperation with the Faculty of Kinesiology. More than 100 Chinese students and athletes have come to Croatia to study football, basketball, handball, water polo and other sports. I would like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to the University of Zagreb and the Faculty of Kinesiology for their care and assistance during the pandemic and earthquake and especially charting their flight home. I would also like to congratulate the Croatian national team on qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. China and Croatia have great potential for strengthening sports cooperation and promising prospects. China is willing to continue to work with Croatia to this end. The Chinese Embassy in Croatia is also ready to continue to provide support to the Faculty of Kinesiology within its capacity.

    Ladies and gentlemen,

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will open in 52 days. At present, all preparatory work has been basically completed. Recently, under the support of the International Olympic committee (IOC), the Chinese worked closely with various aspects, fully implemented the idea of opening a green, sharing, open and honest Olympic, overcome risk challenges such as the pandemic, released the first edition of "epidemic prevention manual", held 10 international test and 3 field training weeks, and served more than 2000 foreign athletes, team officials and international technical officials participating in China. Relevant work has been highly recognized by the international community. We believe that as the first Olympic city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Beijing will deliver a simple, safe and wonderful Olympic Games to the world.

The spirit of sport is to build the body and deepen friendship with people of all countries, but some countries use sports to serve dirty political purposes. Sports fans in China and around the world are eagerly awaiting the Beijing Winter Olympics. Not long ago, the 76th Session of the General Assembly adopted by consensus the resolution on the Olympic Truce for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which was co-sponsored by 173 countries, including Croatia. This demonstrates the international community's enthusiasm and confidence in the success of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. However, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and a small number of countries have continuously hyped "not to send officials to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics." Such practices violate the spirit of the Olympic Charter, politicize sports and harm the common interests of athletes, sports fans and the Olympic family. The Winter Olympics are not a stage for political posturing and manipulation. They are a gathering of Winter Olympic athletes and fans of winter sports around the world. The political scheme of relevant countries is unpopular and doomed to failure. Croatia is a true inheritor of the Olympic spirit and an active participant in the Olympic Games. In this year's Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the Croatian athletes fought hard and made remarkable achievements. China warmly welcomes Croatia and the world's winter athletes.

    Ladies and gentlemen,

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Not long ago, the CPC held the Sixth Plenary Session of its 19th Central Committee, comprehensively reviewed the major achievements and historical experience of the Party over the past century. An important lesson is to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and put the people first. This is also an important reason for China's rapid economic development, long-term social stability and significant development in many aspects.

The Chinese people's aspiration for a better life is the goal of CPC members and the biggest internal driving force for China's development. At present, the Chinese people have lifted themselves out of absolute poverty, achieved moderate prosperity in all respects, embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, and made progress toward the goal of common prosperity for all. China's development and revitalization is conducive to world peace, stability and development. China's development is not a threat to the world, but will bring new opportunities to the whole world, including Croatia.

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Croatia, and the bilateral relations stand at a new starting point connecting the past and the future. China looks forward to working with Croatia to seize new opportunities under the new circumstances, overcome the negative impact of the pandemic, advance exchanges and cooperation in sports and other areas, and jointly upgrade China-Croatia friendly relations.

Thank you!