The 'Winter Olympics Opportunities Driving Urban Revival' Shijingshan Summit Successfully Held at 2021 CIFTIS

On September 4, the 'Winter Olympics Opportunities Driving Urban Revival' Shijingshan Summit of the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) was successfully held at the 9.7-meter conference platform of the No. 3 Blast Furnace in Shougang Park. Jointly hosted by the Shijingshan District Government and Shougang Group, the summit focused on hot topics of Winter Olympic city development, featuring keynote speeches, roundtable dialogues, and major project signings. Over 200 guests, including government leaders, industry experts, and business elites from home and abroad, participated and exchanged ideas on key issues such as Olympic city development, Winter Olympic urban planning and post-Games venue utilization, and international cooperation and exchanges for Olympic cities.

Piao Xuedong, Director of the Marketing Department of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organising Committee, and Chang Wei, Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee, delivered opening remarks on site. Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Member and Chairman of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Coordination Commission, addressed the summit via video. Li Xin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee and District Mayor; Liu Meiying, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau and Full-time Deputy Director of the 'Two Zones' Office; Liang Jie, Deputy General Manager of Shougang Group; Du Mining, Chairman of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce; Zhou Yi, Deputy Director of Huawei Beijing Solutions and Chief Expert on Smart Cities; and Remigio Brunelli, Vice Chairman of the Sports Forum of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, delivered keynote speeches.

In his remarks, Piao Xuedong, Director of the Marketing Department of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organising Committee, noted that the 2022 Winter Olympics had built a bridge for the world to learn about Shijingshan, and that Shijingshan had given great importance to hosting the Games and provided meticulous support to the Winter Olympic Organising Committee based in Shougang Park. During the five and a half years of preparations, not only had the transportation and office environment within Shougang Park been continuously optimised, but the cultivation of Winter Olympic culture across the district had also shown rapid progress, giving full reason to believe that Shijingshan's future would be even brighter.

Piao Xuedong, Director of the Marketing Department of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organising Committee, delivered opening remarks.

In his video address, Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Member and Chairman of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Coordination Commission, stated that Olympic legacy and sustainability must be prepared before the Games open, and Shougang Park was a living example. Shijingshan had presented a model for transforming traditional industrial areas, making a great contribution to urban construction. Today's Shougang Park combines sports parks and sports facilities, offering people a brand-new corner of Beijing.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Member and Chairman of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Coordination Commission, delivered a video address.

In his remarks, Chang Wei, Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee, pointed out that Shijingshan was firmly seizing the 'two major opportunities' of serving and supporting Winter Olympic preparations and building a new benchmark for the revival of the capital city in the new era. Since deeply involving itself in organising CIFTIS, Shijingshan had taken advantage of Beijing's 'two zones' construction, fully played its demonstration and leading role in expanding the opening-up of the service industry, vigorously promoted the clustered development of finance, ice and snow sports, sci-fi, industrial internet, digital creativity, and other characteristic industries, and built a number of new industrial parks such as the Zhongguancun Industrial Internet Industrial Park Pilot Zone, the Zhongguancun (Shougang) AI Innovation Application Park, and the China Sci-Fi Industry Cluster. It continued to release policy dividends in the service trade, widely attracted international organisations and leading enterprises, and continuously expanded its international 'circle of friends.'

Chang Wei, Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee, delivered opening remarks.

During the keynote session, Li Xin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee and District Mayor, spoke on how to leverage Winter Olympic opportunities to drive urban development. He said that Shijingshan would follow the main thread of serving, capitalising on, and participating in the Winter Olympics, striving to enhance urban service and support capabilities; build a new benchmark for the revival of the capital city in the new era; promote the transformation and upgrading of the service industry; and expand cultural exchanges and integration. Shijingshan would continue to improve its business environment and work with all parties to seek common development.

Li Xin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee and District Mayor, delivered a keynote speech.

Liu Meiying, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau and Full-time Deputy Director of the 'Two Zones' Office, delivered a keynote speech titled 'Seizing Winter Olympic Opportunities to Advance the Construction of the Two Zones.' Liu noted that hosting the Winter Olympics requires the construction of venues, transport, and other infrastructure, which helps Beijing and especially competition zones like Shijingshan improve service standards, create a favourable environment, and expand opening-up, thereby attracting the clustering of ice and snow sports-related industries and injecting strong momentum into urban revival.

Liu Meiying, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau and Full-time Deputy Director of the 'Two Zones' Office, delivered a keynote speech.

Liang Jie, Deputy General Manager of Shougang Group Co., Ltd., introduced Shougang Park to the attending guests. She said that Shougang Park had an indissoluble bond with the Olympics—relocated for the 2008 Summer Olympics and transformed by the 2022 Winter Olympics. The CIFTIS event being held in the park and the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics provided opportunities and a platform for the transformation and development of the new Shougang area. The century-old Shougang would seize this historic opportunity to create a new landmark for the revival of the capital city in the new era.

Liang Jie, Deputy General Manager of Shougang Group Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech.

Zhou Yi, Deputy Director of Huawei Beijing Solutions and Chief Expert on Smart Cities, spoke on the topic 'Co-building an Urban Intelligent Body to Create a Model for Urban Renewal.' He stated that in the process of building a smart city, an ultra-large city like Beijing faces urban renewal as both a challenge and a priority. On this topic, technological innovation, including the application of smart terminals, 5G, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, would empower the city to achieve industrial and cultural revival. In the future, Huawei would spare no effort in helping Beijing and Shijingshan build an intelligent body for urban revival and create a model for urban renewal in Shijingshan.

Zhou Yi, Deputy Director of Huawei Beijing Solutions and Chief Expert on Smart Cities, delivered a keynote speech.

Du Mining, Chairman of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, shared Finland's advanced experience in operating sports systems. He stressed that sports venue planning must be long-term and sustainable, serving not just competitions but, more importantly, the general public. Through careful maintenance and upgrading, the lifespan and long-term usage of venues could be enhanced. Moreover, it was necessary to stimulate people's enthusiasm for sports by establishing clubs and creating sports ecosystems, enabling ordinary citizens to participate in sports and maximising the value of investments in sports facilities and venues.

Du Mining, Chairman of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, delivered a keynote speech.

Excellent athletes are cultivated from a young age, but promoting mass sports is a project involving the entire population. How can sports be popularised among children and adolescents? Remigio Brunelli, Vice Chairman of the Sports Forum of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, summarised methods to engage young people in and foster a love for sports through sharing his own experiences. He believed that for children, having fun is more important than results, and cultivating a sense of enjoyment during sports can help form habits that last for 30 to 50 years. Brunelli expressed confidence in the future of China's physical education and hoped that more outstanding coaches would guide young people to experience the charm of sports.

Remigio Brunelli, Vice Chairman of the Sports Forum of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, delivered a keynote speech.

During CIFTIS, Shijingshan was set to witness nearly one hundred business signings, and a key project signing ceremony was also held at the forum. Twenty-five outstanding companies signed cooperation agreements with Shijingshan District and Shougang Group. Qi Chunli, Standing Director and Executive Deputy District Mayor of Shijingshan, signed with representatives from 16 enterprises including China Electronics Technology Group, CCCC Holdings Co., Ltd., CYTS Aoyou International Travel Co., Ltd., and Beijing Asia-Pacific Wenrong Data Technology Research Institute. Liang Jie, Deputy General Manager of Shougang Group Co., Ltd., signed cooperation agreements with nine enterprises, including Luobo Yunli (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., and the Lunar and Planetary Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Centre. The landing of these high-quality projects would further promote Shijingshan's opening-up and effective economic vitality.

Key project signing ceremony.

Subsequently, under the moderation of Zhang Li, Vice President of Asia Data Group, a lively roundtable dialogue on 'Winter Olympics Opportunities Driving Urban Revival' was held with guests including Zhang Baolong·Bruno (Chief Representative of the Italian Trade Agency), Zhao Yinggang (President of the Chinese Luge Association, Vice Chairman of the Sustainability and Advisory Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organising Committee, and specially appointed expert of the Sports Department of the Winter Olympic Organising Committee), Ruan Hemu (President of the French Sports Federation and Director of the French Football Office), Li Jialin (General Manager of Beijing Zhonghai Real Estate Commercial Management Company), and Marko Asanovic (General Manager of AST (China) Company).

Roundtable dialogue: Winter Olympics Opportunities Driving Urban Revival.

Mr. Zhang Baolong·Bruno shared advice on ensuring the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, covering aspects such as infrastructure deployment, service personnel management, cross-sector value chain integration, event security, consideration for people with disabilities, and social mobilisation. He expressed a desire to strengthen friendly collaboration between Chinese and Italian enterprises and promote long-term, win-win development, hoping that the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics would also attract more Chinese companies to the European market.

Zhang Baolong·Bruno, Chief Representative of the Italian Trade Agency (left one).

On the development of winter sports in China, President Zhao Yinggang stated that the roughly six years of preparation for the Winter Olympics had driven the rapid and comprehensive development of competitive sports in the country, and now China was in a process of further enhancement and a new start. He further pointed out that the Winter Olympics had far exceeded the scope of competition and even sport itself; its influence and impetus would continue to grow, further promoting the economic and social development of countries, cities, and regions.

Zhao Yinggang (centre), President of the Chinese Luge Association, Vice Chairman of the Sustainability and Advisory Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organising Committee, and specially appointed expert of the Sports Department of the Winter Olympic Organising Committee.

Mr. Ruan Hemu shared Olympic hosting experience from pre-Games organisation and planning to assessing the added value of yet-to-be-built sports venues. He noted that after France hosted two Olympic Games, some venues where gold medals were awarded became very popular. Host countries need to deepen the continuous operation of Olympic venues with the goals of attracting more spectators, promoting youth sports development, and increasing industrial impetus.

Ruan Hemu (centre), President of the French Sports Federation and Director of the French Football Office.

Mr. Li Jialin expressed that urban renewal and the Winter Olympics had a mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial relationship. On the one hand, Olympic preparations would rapidly elevate the city's infrastructure construction and accelerate the building and upgrading of the entire region's office buildings, hotels, venues, and leisure exhibition spaces. On the other hand, the fruits of urban renewal could bring a whole new vision to the Winter Olympics and greatly promote the clustering of upstream and downstream industries.

Li Jialin (centre), General Manager of Beijing Zhonghai Real Estate Commercial Management Company.

Mr. Marko Asanovic stated that Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics had brought great confidence to the entire industry. The Winter Olympics served as an excellent catalyst, accelerating the development of the ice and snow industry and touching every ordinary Chinese and every corner of the country. It was also a driver of infrastructure investment, promoting the construction of world-class sports venues in China. He also pointed out that while part of the development of the ice and snow industry was driven by the Olympics, the other real driving force was the change in the lifestyle of Chinese people, especially the shift among young people towards a healthier, more sports-oriented lifestyle.

Marko Asanovic (right), General Manager of AST (China) Company.

Shijingshan will firmly seize the development opportunities brought by the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the new benchmark for the rejuvenation of the capital city in the new era, striving to realise the vision of 'the Winter Olympics making the city better.' Through the wisdom and brilliant exchanges of experts at the 'Winter Olympics Opportunities Driving Urban Revival' summit, Shijingshan, as the 'Double Olympic District,' will certainly grasp Winter Olympic opportunities, promote urban development, and fully leverage the driving role of Winter Olympic preparations on urban progress.