China, Italy boost cooperation following Olympic handover

Delegation from Milan-Cortina Games praises collaboration

ROME－Italy and China are sharing their rich experience in staging the Winter Olympics, thereby enhancing the countries' cooperation in the winter sports sector, say industry experts.

At the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Sunday, the Olympic flag was handed over to the mayors of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the joint hosts of the 2026 Games in Italy.

After the handover, representatives from Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo delivered an eight-minute presentation, themed "Duality, Together."

"We would like to thank our Chinese friends for all the information they have shared with us," said Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, before the closing of the Beijing Games.

"Our team is collaborating with the organizers of Beijing 2022 very well and talked with the director (of the opening and closing ceremonies) Zhang Yimou several times," said Lida Castelli, artistic director of the Milan-Cortina eight-minute presentation.

"We can receive all the information that we need and exchange ideas with each other during our preparations over the past year and the rehearsals over the last six months," Castelli said.

According to the official website of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee, 40 representatives of the 2026 Games were sent to Beijing to observe organization and operations in the Chinese capital.

"Each city can benefit from the other's experience, and every two years there's a new story to tell about a new place," said Diana Bianchedi, project manager for the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Games. The world is entering a new level of cooperation between Olympic host cities, she added.

Luigi Alvera, the deputy mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo, heaped praise on the legacy work of Beijing 2022 organizers. "They showed great attention to the utilization of sports venues. For instance, regarding curling, the venue used for swimming competitions in the Summer Olympics became a curling facility, just like our 1956 Olympic stadium will host the 2026 curling competitions," Alvera told Xinhua.

Italy has already seized upon opportunities arising from the success of Beijing 2022 and China's winter sports development.

Maurizio Tedesco, who works for the public relations department of Italian equipment maker Leitner, said that for companies like his, the Olympics are a "shopwindow to the world".

In 2019, Leitner won a bid to supply a fleet of snow groomers for the Beijing Games. "This deal was a source of professional pride for the company," said Tedesco.

TechnoAlpin, which manufactures snowmaking systems, was another Italian company to play an important role in Beijing 2022.

Moreover, as China fulfilled its commitment to engage 300 million people in winter sports, global companies now see huge potential in business cooperation with China's winter sports market.

Tourism is becoming a major driver of China's winter sports economy, with the sector's total income expected to surpass 1.1 trillion yuan ($173.8 billion) by 2025, according to the China Tourism Academy.

Hermann Winkler, from the Alto Adige region in northern Italy, has already successfully tapped into this burgeoning market.

Winkler teamed up with experienced Austrian ski instructor Stefan Schild to found Snow51 in 2017, a ski simulation company. The company has enjoyed rapid expansion in China, with its ski simulators proving hugely popular in southern cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen.

After the Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off, Snow51 reported a 40 percent increase in customers.

China has a relatively short history for many winter sports, but the market is fast growing and highly dynamic, Winkler said.

Xinhua