Photo taken on February 4, 2022 shows the Olympic Rings in ice and the LED floor image of the large snowflake framed by calligraphic "olive branches", which symbolizes all people living in peace and harmony, during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China (XINHUA)

Amidst tension in several corners of the world and even with the COVID-19 pandemic still on the prowl, the Beijing Olympic Winter Games has successfully opened and hit the ground running, signaling the resilience of the human spirit to rise against travails and tribulation. The People’s Republic of China, host of the Winter Olympics in her splendid capital Beijing, takes the onerous responsibility to raise the human prospect and inject epic optimism. This year’s winter Olympics take its place in the pantheon of great games for upholding the values of universal solidarity.

Despite the attempt of some circles in the West to politicize the games and vitiate its historic significance for a world in desperate need of meaningful platforms to stand together, the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing pulled in world leaders from across several regions who shared the podium with Chinese President Xi Jinping to kick off the ceremony marking the start of the games.

Themed “Together for a Shared Future,” Beijing Winter Olympics add to the strings of consisted efforts of China to make contributions to the building of a community of shared future for all mankind. China-inspired Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for international cooperation is the most concrete and practical expression of such idea. So far, the BRI has contributed considerably to the world, boosting trade by reducing time and cost and broadly enhancing dialogue among civilization.

The Beijing Winter Olympics reemphasize the iconic consensus that the fate of mankind is closely tied together.

Today, Beijing earned the double laurel of hosting both the Olympic summer and winter games and its pride is shared by the global South, and the entire people of the world. It is hope that the spirit of the Olympics now doubly contributes to the entire humanity, ushering peace, share prosperity and hope for a brighter future.

(The author is Director of the Center for China Studies, Abuja, Nigeria)