Ambassador of Austria to China: The Winter Olympics are an excellent opportunity for Austria and China to deepen cooperation

In the history of the modern Olympic Games, few countries have won more medals in the Winter Olympic Games than the Summer Olympics, and Austria is one of them. The Alps run through the country from west to east and give Austrians a natural love of winter sports. On the eve of the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a grand event of global winter sports, Austrian Ambassador to China Liken said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times reporter that while the new crown epidemic is still spreading around the world, Beijing provides an opportunity for athletes from all over the world to get together to celebrate winter sports, which is very important.

Austrian Ambassador to China Licken was interviewed by a reporter from the Global Times. Photo by Lin Luwen

In an interview, Liken praised China for hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics as scheduled under the epidemic: "We are well aware of the challenges that need to be addressed. The newly emerged Olmikron variant is more likely to spread among people, which makes epidemic prevention measures more important," Liken believes, and Beijing's existing epidemic prevention measures are enough to ensure the smooth progress of the Winter Olympics.

At the same time, Liken also added that due to the Outbreak in Austria, the government's decision not to send a government delegation to Beijing has nothing to do with the so-called "boycott".

Austrians, including Liken, attach great importance to the Winter Olympics. "The Winter Olympics will be very important for Austria, and winter sports are very popular in Austria," Liken told the Global Times reporter, expecting the country to send a delegation of up to 350 people, including about 105 athletes, coaches, team doctors and other personnel.

Austria is a well-known ski powerhouse, which is closely related to the country's unique natural geography, and the Alps make it a fertile place for winter sports. In 1964 and 1976, Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the Winter Olympics twice, and the first Winter Olympics were held in 2012. In the all-time medal table of the Winter Olympics, Austria ranked sixth with a total of 232 medals.

"Our athletes have been preparing for the Winter Olympics for a long time and they are looking forward to showing their abilities in Beijing." "Austria has been one of the top ten countries in the medal table for the last five Winter Olympics, and that's what we hope to achieve in Beijing," Ricken said. ”

Due to Austria's advantages and experience in skiing, the Chinese national team in some sports also chooses to train locally, such as the Chinese national team in the snowboard U-field and the Chinese national team in the freestyle skiing U-field, which have previously trained in the small town of Kaprun in salzburg, Austria.

Liken told the Global Times that he was happy to see Chinese athletes choose Austria for training. At the same time, Austrian companies are also helping Chinese companies develop ski resorts and winter tourist attractions in their own countries, "Winter sports and the Winter Olympics are excellent opportunities for the Olympics and China to deepen cooperation and develop business cooperation." ”

Liken said he was pleased to see China's success in achieving the goal of "bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports", and also noted that more and more Chinese people are interested in winter sports and have more demand for winter tourism and sports facilities. In this area, Ricken believes that Austria can share more experience with its Chinese partners.