Doha, 06 Feb. 2022

Chinese envoy to State of Qatar, Zhou Jian has said that His Highness Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani's visit to China is of great significance to China-Qatar relations and the Olympic cause.

Talking on the recent visit to People's Republic of China of Amir of State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani who attended official grand opening ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympic Sports on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping

He said that Amir of Qatar's visit to China is unprecedented, with three unique factors: His Highness is the only guest who is both a head of and an IOC member from Asia, the only head of state from the Gulf region, and the only state leader in the Middle East to have attended both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

He said that he believes the visit of Amir of Qatar will leave a remarkable record in the history of Olympics and China-Qatar relations. It is a visit of unity. The official motto for Beijing 2022 is “Together for a Shared Future”, which illustrates the spirit of “together” in the new Olympic motto. The visit of His Highness to China fully demonstrates the firm support from the international community for the Beijing Winter Olympics and sends a strong signal that China and Qatar will work together under Olympic spirit and oppose politicization of sports.

He said that he was confident that with the support of Qatar, the Winter Olympics will become a new symbol of solidarity and bring more confidence and courage to the world for a better future. It is a visit of friendship. President Xi Jinping and Amir of Qatar are old friends with great friendship. In 2008, the two leaders met for the first time during the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which marks the start of long-time friendly exchanges. In 2014 and 2019, President Xi Jinping received Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Beijing for an official visit. In June 2019, the two heads of states met again in Dushanbe. After the pandemic outbreak in 2020, our two heads of states immediately spoke to each other to convey confidence and support.

Chinese envoy said that as the Winter Olympics fall on the Chinese lunar New Year this year, the visit of His Highness to China will not only be a celebration of the Winter Olympic Games, but also a celebration of lunar New Year in China with President Xi and the Chinese people. I believe their great friendship started with Olympic Games will be once again enhanced by Beijing 2022.

He said that it was a visit of cooperation. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of states, China-Qatar relations have witnessed sustained, sound and stable development. During Amir of Qatar's visit to China, President Xi Jinping held the first face-to-face meeting with him since the pandemic, and exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues, providing the top-level design that will guide the direction for our future relations and inject strong impetus into China-Qatar friendship in the new era.

Zhou Jian said that hosting the Winter Olympics is a solemn commitment China has made to the international community. Over the past six years, following a green, inclusive, open and clean approach, we have made orderly progress in all preparation works. At present, 12 competition venues are completed, 3,000 athletes are participating, 300 million Chinese people are taking part in winter sports driven by the Games, and 1.4 billion Chinese people are welcoming guests from all over the world. China has the confidence and capability to deliver a splendid, extraordinary and outstanding Olympic Games to the world.

It is also the common aspiration of China and Qatar for a successful Winter Olympics  and look forward to seeing our friendship reinforced in Beijing, the "Duel Olympic City". China is also ready to take the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to work with Qatar for a shared future, to make new contributions to the Olympic cause and Beijing 2022, and inject new impetus into China-Qatar relations.

Talking on meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Amir of Qatar on last Saturday in Beijing,  Zhou Jian said that it is highlighting the close relationship between our two countries. President Xi pointed out that China-Qatar relations have witnessed rapid and in-depth growth over the recent years. Pragmatic cooperation between our two countries strive against the impact of the pandemic, and bilateral cooperation in various fields including energy and infrastructure has yielded fruitful results. At present, China-Qatar relationship is facing new opportunities, and China is willing to work with Qatar to lift our strategic partnership to a new level. His Highness the Emir said that the bilateral relations between Qatar and China have achieved historical outcomes, and Qatar is pleased to have developed such strong and deepening ties with China.

Second is reaffirming our confidence in mutual support. President Xi called for firm support between China and Qatar and both the leaders once again confirmed for firmly support to both the countries national sovereignty, stability and security.

Third is mapping up blueprints for mutual cooperation. President Xi said China supports Qatar in the development strategy of "National Vision 2030", and is willing to work with Qatar in the joint construction of "Belt and Road" Initiative, as well as the implementation of Global Development Initiative. The Chinese side will expand cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure and other sectors, build a long-term and stable energy partnership, and will encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Qatar and take active parts in Qatar’s infrastructure construction and the Free Zone. We also welcome the Qatari side to increase investment in China. President Xi expressed China’s wills to deepen cooperation in counter-terrorism and other fields, and expressed his hope that Qatar could continue to play an active role in finalizing the FTA agreement between China and Gulf States. His Highness the Emir said Qatar welcomes invest from Chinese enterprises to Qatar, and is willing to deepen cooperation with China in various fields such as energy and infrastructure, and actively promote cooperation under the "Belt and Road" Initiative to make grater contributions to our bilateral relations. His Highness also expressed Qatar’s readiness to play an active role in deepening the cooperative relationship between GCC and China.

Fourth is enhancing mutual exchanges between our two peoples. President Xi stressed the importance to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Qatar. He also highlighted that China supports Qatar in hosting the 2022 World Cup and the 2030 Asian Games, and will launch cooperation of giant pandas with Qatar, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East region. His Highness congratulated China for the excellent response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which comes as a result of the determination and hard work of the Chinese government and its people. He expressed Qatar’s willingness to strengthen cultural exchanges with China and promote cooperation in the fields of education and sports.

The giant panda is recognized as the national treasure of China, which enjoys great popularity all around the world. It is a symbol of peace and friendship. The cooperation between China and Qatar on the joint research of giant pandas has become a highlight of our bilateral ties, and resembles the friendship between our two leaders. Currently, the site of panda houses in Qatar is under construction. Later this year before the World Cup, Chinese giant pandas will arrive in Qatar, marking their first debut in the Middle East. This will be a remarkable gift from China for the Qatar World Cup, and we hope that the pandas will bring happiness and best wishes from the Chinese people to the brotherly Qatari people, and serve as a new bridge of friendship between our two countries.

In his concluding remarks, Chinese ambassador to Qatar Zhou Jian said that China and Qatar are good brothers, good friends and good partners. Our two sides established strategic partnership in 2014, ushering in a fast track of development. In particular, during His Highness’s successful visit to China in 2019, our two leaders have reached broad consensus on further deepening cooperation in all fields, drawing up new blueprints for bilateral ties in a new era of great development.

Looking back to our relations, we have yielded fruitful results. Looking to the future, China-Qatar relations are full of boundless expectations. We will remain committed to our common aspirations of solidarity and collaboration. Following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in November. China is ready to work with Qatar to present two splendid sports feasts and offer strong support to China’s "Long-Range Objectives Through 2035" and Qatar’s National Vision 2030, boosting the confidence of mankind to overcome difficulties under the new Olympic motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger and Together".

We will join our efforts on international fairness and justice. China is ready to work with Qatar to uphold true multilateralism. We should remove barriers, not erect walls. We should open up, not close off. We should seek integration, not decoupling. We will make persistent efforts in the reform of global governance following the principles of fairness and justice, and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.