China launches its overall preparation for 2022 Winter Olympic Games

BEIJING - China has launched its overall preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games here on Thursday.

Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session on July 31 to become the first ever city to host both summer and winter Olympics.

"It is a milestone for the development of China's winter sports," said Liu Peng, Minister of the General Administration of Sport (GASC) of China.

The GASC has announced a detailed plan concerning the preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which prioritizes the development of China's winter sports and the improvement of athletes and coaches.

China has planned to push winter sports among 300 million people, which means almost the whole population of the United States will either get in touch with, become interested in, regularly practice or even excel at the sports in the next seven years.

According to Liu, the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea's Pyeongchang feature seven sports, 15 disciplines and 102 events, while China now has launched seven sports, 13 deciplines and 75 events. China is expected to carry out all the Olympic deciplines and over 90 percent of the events by 2018.

China also plans to train a group of coaches who are creative and open-minded.