Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, said the tiger's strength, vitality, courage, tenacity and boldness are qualities we need as we face unprecedented challenges, in a video address released by the UN on January 28, 2022. Photo: VCG

World leaders, chiefs of international organizations and ambassadors to China sent their best wishes for the Year of the Tiger, and the festive atmosphere for the Chinese New Year is further heated by high anticipation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which will start in six days. 

The warm festival greetings and extensive support for the Beijing 2022 signaled China's influence and the sports event will not only boost global solidarity, but also offer a window for world dignitaries, athletes and Games watchers to have a better understanding of Chinese society, from its social governance and epidemic control, to economic development and traditional culture, observers said. 

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, said the tiger's strength, vitality, courage, tenacity and boldness are qualities we need as we face unprecedented challenges, in a video address released by the UN on Friday. Guterres thanked China and the Chinese people's commitment to multilateralism and the UN, and said he looked forward to a safe and successful Games. 

"The Olympic spirit shines as a beacon to human solidarity," Guterres said. 

Guterres is among 32 world dignitaries who will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4, 2022. 

On Saturday, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach sent his greetings for the Year of the Tiger in Chinese and said the Winter Games preparations were "excellent," when he visited Genting Snow Park, a venue for Beijing 2022. 

Dignitaries and foreign ambassadors to China also sent their greetings to China and the Chinese people in various forms. 

Pakistani President Arif Alvi wished the Chinese people a "Happy Spring Festival and an auspicious Year of the Tiger" in Chinese, according to a video which also shows the president patting a Beijing 2022 mascot — giant panda Bing Dwen Dwen — on his desk during his greeting speech. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will come to Beijing for the opening ceremony and in a signed article published in the Global Times, he congratulated the leadership and people of China for hosting this mega event and wished all participants a safe, healthy and successful games.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Xinnian Kuaile (Happy New Year) in Putonghua and Cantonese, and thanked the contributions made by Chinese Canadians in his video address. 

Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov sent Chinese New Year greetings at his annual press briefing on Tuesday. As President Vladimir Putin will attend the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Denisov said the president is an expert in making dumplings and hopes Putin will have a chance to eat dumplings, a traditional food for the festival, during his visit.

Brazilian Ambassador Paulo Estivallet said, "in the Year of the Tiger, we hope to further deepen our relationship in trade, investment... I wish Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics a complete success," in a video. 

Japanese Ambassador Hideo Tarumi extended his Chinese New Year greetings via video, paying respect to previous leaders of the two countries who pushed the normalization of and laid the foundation for bilateral relations 50 years ago. 

Clockwise from top left: Mayors of Bremen, Niedersachsen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein express Chinese New Year greetings and their hopes for closer region-to-region cooperation with China on January 28, 2022. Photo: cnsphoto

Mayors of Bremen, Niedersachsen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein expressed Chinese New Year greetings and their hope for closer region-to-region cooperation in 2022, which marks the 50th year of China-Germany diplomatic relations.

US consuls general in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Jim Heller and Lisa Heller, competed in writing    Spring Festival scrolls, New Year floriculture, cooking festival food and costumes, all festival traditions, to share their celebrations of the Spring Festival. Consuls general in Wuhan and Shenyang also extended their greetings via video. 

New Zealand Ambassador Clare Fearnley wrote Chinese character fu, meaning good fortune, with a calligraphy brush to send her Chinese New Year wishes. 

Diplomats, including ambassadors from Australia, the UK, Iran, Thailand and Mongolia also extended Chinese New Year greetings via video on Weibo. 

Chinese New Year is a time of reunion and the Olympic spirit highlights the solidarity of humanity. The two events overlap and brought up a joyful and cheerful atmosphere.

The effective epidemic control in Chinese society and the design and operation of closed-loop management for the Olympics will contribute to a smooth and successful Winter Games, which has enabled family reunions of ordinary people, exchanges and competitions of world athletes, and a major diplomatic platform for world leaders to reinforce multilateralism and solidarity at the same time, according to observers. 

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Saturday that Spring Festival is a time when people celebrate achievements and make plans for this year, and society is of high morale to overcome challenges. 

Having foreign dignitaries and sports personnel visit Beijing offers a window for the world to have a deeper understanding of China's growth and development outlook, social governance, including the epidemic control approach, its people and traditional culture, in addition to multilateral dialogues that are expected to happen at such an occasion, Li said. 

World support for Beijing 2022 underlined that a majority of the international society has an objective judgment of China's international commitment and its role as a responsible major country, which will not be negated by a few anti-China noises made amid the Olympics, the expert said.