A child learns to skate at the National Speed Skating Oval. Photo: Xinhua

From a summer Olympics powerhouse to a winter sports country, China has made great strides in sports over the last decade, thanks to its continued efforts in pushing forward a nationwide fitness campaign for balanced development of mass and elite sports.

 At the Tokyo Olympics, China won 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze medals, its second best performance in an overseas summer Games. And at Beijing 2022, the host nation notched nine golds and 15 overall, both record highs at a single Winter Olympics. 

"In the last decade, China's competitive sports have seen a qualitative leap," Wang Qi, deputy director of Beijing Association For The Promotion Of Olympic, told the Global Times.

Wang noted that, in recent years, the development of China's competitive sports has injected great impetus into the country's construction of a leading sporting power.

"Sports know no borders, and in China's foreign exchanges, sports have always been a pioneer, and an important window and platform. With the support of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese athletes have continued to make great strides in international competitions, while breaking through the barriers between East and West, showcasing to the world a more open, confident, and respectable image of China's competitive sports," Wang said.

With the creation of joint teams, the selection of talent across different sports, and the use of advanced technology to improve athlete training, Wang pointed out that the last decade has been one in which China's competitive sports have found an appropriate development path. 

At the same time, the Party and the country continue to promote the importance of competitive sports in people's lives, while vigorously developing the sports industry and encouraging wider public participation in sports, Wang noted.

Currently, outside of the arena, Fitness-For-All program are experiencing resilient and dynamic growth in the public sphere in China.

"A larger portion of the general public is picking up a sport by first watching then participating in it, coinciding with more practical opportunities to participate in said sports in China," Wang said.

According to official statistics, China had a total sports venue area of 3.41 billion square meters by the end of 2021, with a per capita area of 2.41 square meters, which was a marked increase from the 2011 figure of 1.05 square meters.

"We will launch extensive public fitness initiatives, improve physical education for our young people, promote the well-around development of recreational and competitive sports, and accelerate efforts in transforming China into a country strong in sports," the report to the 20th CPC National Congress takes a solemn oath.

China's new dawn in sports development has arrived with more gratifying achievements and effects to come in the near future, Wang said.